


St Ives

by aroseofstone (Adams1422)



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-28
Updated: 2015-01-20
Packaged: 2018-01-21 05:02:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1538573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adams1422/pseuds/aroseofstone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose Tyler is finally taking well deserved vacation. The Doctor never lets a vacation day go to waste. They happen to end up on the same trip.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Rose Tyler sighed as she walked in to the coffee shop, in for another dull day.  
She walked behind the counter and put on her apron, taking her place behind the cash register. She began taking orders and names with a sunny smile on her face. The shop was a little slow today. The only thing worse than a busy day was a slow day in Rose's mind. She did enjoy her job, she liked working with people and her coworkers, Donna and Mickey, were great. She didn't need to work, not really. Pete Tyler, Rose's father, was richer than God himself and would have taken care of her finances without batting an eye. She didn't want that, though. Rose had her own flat, which she paid for with money from this very job. She liked a sense of responsibility, she liked being able to take care of herself. Her mum had been insisting that she take a vacation soon, said she's been working far too long and hard. Rose was just to the point of relenting. Pete and Jackie wanted to pay for a week long vacation to St Ives beach (and Rose was pretty certain that Jackie had already booked her room at the Salt House). Rose had decided today that she'd agree.

The bell on top of the door jingled, and Rose glanced up. A tall man with wild hair and an even wilder grin bounced in. He wore a long trench coat and a slightly ill-fitting suit. When his bright eyes landed on Rose, he positively beamed. She smiled back reflexively.

"Hello," he said brightly.

"Hello," Rose responded, her grin widening.

He ordered his coffee, something with way too much chocolate and sugar for a grown man, but that was neither here nor there.

"What's your name?" she asked, his cup and a marker in hand.

"The Doctor," he said with a straight face. Rose arched an eyebrow.

"The Doctor?" she asked. What sort of name was that?

"Yes, that's me. The Doctor," he said, beaming at her. She had half a mind to press it, but he looked so pleased that she couldn't bring herself to. She scrawled it across his cup. After a few minutes, it was ready.

"Doctor?" she called, looking around for the man. He bounded up to the counter and took the drink with a word of thanks. He walked back over to his seat and sat down, fiddling with some strange contraption. Rose went back to work. Every now and then she sneaked a glance at the strange man, the Doctor. She felt drawn to him for some reason; he was magnetic.

A while later there was a loud _bang_ from the general area of the Doctor. Rose gasped as her head snapped over to see him slightly singed, the contraption smoking slightly. It looked like no one had been hurt.

"Ah, yes... Well, I must be going then..." He said sheepishly, picking up his drink and still-smoking device. He bounded for the door, turning to offer Rose a cheeky wink.

"What's your name?" he asked, turning. He had one foot out the door, his body twisted at the waist to look at Rose.

"Rose," she said with a furrow between her brows, "Rose Tyler."

He nodded, seeming satisfied.

"Goodbye, Rose Tyler."

 _Alright, maybe not just another dull day,_ she thought.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

"Mum," Rose called as she entered the Tyler's home.

"Up here, sweetheart!" Jackie said from the general direction of the stairs. Rose tromped up the stairs with a grin, already hearing her baby brother's tiny voice from the bathroom.

"Rose!" Tony cried as he caught sight of his sister, stretching his little arms toward her. He was slippery with water and soap from his bath.

"Hey, Tony," she said to the four-year-old, staying carefully out of his reach when she crouched down to talk to him.

"How was your day, little man?" she asked.

"Great! Dad took me to the park and to get ice cream and we saw this really cool dog at the park, Rose, even though dogs aren't allowed at the park, he was still there and he wagged his tail at me and I petted him and he licked me-"

"Breathe, Tony," Jackie said, rolling her eyes. Her son took in a huge gulp of air and grinned at his sister.

"Sounds like you had a busy day then," Rose said with a laugh. She turned to her mum.

"I think I'll take that vacation," she said simply, cringing when Jackie squealed.

"Oh, that's great sweetheart! I've already got everything planned for you! You'll take one of Pete's-"

Rose cut her off, "I'll take the train like a normal person."

Jackie frowned, "Fine, fine, but you're staying for a full week, no complaints!"

"Yes, Mum," Rose said, grinning fondly.

"Are you staying for tea?" Jackie asked, fishing Tony out of the tub and wrapping him in a fluffy towel.

"No, I just wanted to let you know that I was going on the vacation," Rose answered, already heading for the door.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow?" Jackie called after her.

"Sure! I'll have tea here," she said, walked to the stairs.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

When Rose got home, she began packing her bags. Jackie had texted her to give her all the details of her vacation. She would be going to St Ives and staying in some place called the Salt House. It was some sort of B&B with two rooms for rent. Jackie had apparently tried booking both rooms, but the South had already been taken. That was fine with Rose, it might give her someone to talk to while she was there. She was leaving in two days and she'd stay for a week.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

Rose sat at the table in the Tyler's dining room, laughing at a story that Tony was telling. At the young age of four, Tony was already a performer. Jackie and Pete smiled fondly at their children, gently reminding Tony to eat as well as tell his story.

"So, you excited about your vacation?" Pete asked, smirking when Jackie practically started bouncing in her seat.

"Yeah, I think it'll be alright," Rose said, answering Pete's smirk with one of her own. That was bound to get a rise out of Jackie.

" _Alright_?" she demanded, glaring at Rose.

"Yeah, you know, it'll be fine," Rose elaborated, biting her cheek to keep herself from smiling.

" _Fine_? Rose Marion Tyler, this is the vacation of a lifetime, you never know what'll happen! It'll be more than ' _alright_ ' and ' _fine_ ', it'll be amazing!" Jackie said, wiping Tony's chin of food.

"Sorry, Mum, of course you're right. It'll be fantastic, brilliant even," Rose admitted, tucking back in to her food. Jackie nodded in satisfaction.

"Have you finished packing, love?" Pete asked. Rose nodded, her mouth full.

"Good, I'll send a car round to take you to the train station when it's time for you to leave," he said, his tone allowing for no arguments. Rose nodded dutifully.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

The alarm blared from Rose's nightstand, shocking her out of her sound slumber. She had been having the best dream... Some mysterious man in a leather jacket with bright blue eyes had taken her to see the stars in a place very far from home. It was fantastic.  
Rose grumbled and smacked her alarm, silencing it. She slid out of bed, flinching when her feet met the cold floor. She quickly got dressed and pulled her duffel bag up on her shoulder, heading downstairs to wait on the car to pick her up. She had a long day ahead.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

The train clacked merrily beneath her as she settled in to her seat. She took out the book that she had brought along to read and buried her nose in it. She didn't notice the tall man with the wild hair as he bounded through her carriage and on to the next.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

Rose groaned as she stood up, stretching. Five bloody hours and she was finally here. This better be one amazing vacation.

She hailed a taxi and told the cabbie that she was going to the Salt House.

She arrived not too long after and walked up to the reception desk, telling the receptionist her name.

" _Rose Tyler?_ "she heard a delighted voice behind her crow. She turned around, her brow furrowed.

" _Doctor?_ "


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The room description came from the Salk House's website. Let me know what you think! =)

“What are you doing here?” he asked, grinning like a loon. He was still wearing that coat, this time in a blue suit (still ill-fitting as ever) and his hair was even wilder than the first time she saw him. 

“I’m takin’ a vacation, what else would I be doing here?” she asked, grinning back at him. She couldn’t help it, when he smiled at her like that, her lips took on a life of their own.

“You’re staying here?” he asked. The receptionist was glaring at them for taking up her time with all their useless, obvious questions. 

Rose nodded, “In the North Room.”

“I’m in the South!” he exclaimed, bursting with excitement. 

She rolled her eyes, there were only two rooms to begin with at the Salt House, if she was in the North, he had to be in the South. She grinned at him, her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth. She didn’t miss the way his eyes latched on to it, his Adams apple bobbing. The receptionist cleared her throat. Rose and the Doctor both jumped, turning to look sheepishly at her. Rose finished checking in and the Doctor checked in after her.

“How long’re you here for?” she asked as they walked toward their rooms.

“A week, you?” he said, gazing down at her. Damn him, he _was_ tall. A nice, tall, skinny bloke with a great smile and an amazing head of hair. Never let it be said that Rose Tyler didn’t have a type. Not that she was interested in this total stranger, of course not. That would be mad. They’d only met twice now and the first time he set off an explosion at her job.

“A week,” she said.

“Really? It seems like the universe is trying to tell us something, _Rose Tyler_ ,” he said. Oh god, the way he said her name. It rolled off of his tongue like he was tasting the very letters that it was composed of. It sent shivers down Rose’s spine. Or would have, had she been interested in him. She wasn’t though, so it didn’t matter. Didn’t bother her in the least. Certainly didn’t tickle her pink. Nope.

“Yeah? What do you think that is?” she asked with a cheeky grin.

He sputtered for a moment, seemingly caught off guard.

“That- that- that- we should have some brilliant adventures together!” he finally managed

“Adventures?” Rose said, sounding skeptical. Rose Tyler, heiress of the Torchwood Estate, did not have many adventures.

“Oh yeah, love a good adventure, me! What about you, Rose? Do you like a nice adventure?” he asked, eyes bright and shining, the way they had been after he set off a minor explosion at Vortex Coffee. She found herself nodding without really meaning to, caught up in his manic energy. 

“Good, great, brilliant!” he exclaimed. They had finally made it to the fork where their rooms were, time to part ways already.

“Well, guess I’ll go check out my room,” she said, stepping to the side a little.

“Or…” he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“Or…?” she prompted, leaning against the wall.

“We could check them out together- for safety, of course!” he said. She grinned at him again. She thought vaguely that her face was going to start aching soon if she hung around him for too long.

“Safety?” she asked, “the last time I saw you y’nearly blew my job up!”

“Oi, it wasn’t that big of an explosion! Just a minor one, barely singed my eyebrows, look! They’re fine now,” he rubbed a finger across one to prove his point.

“Why did that thing explode anyway?” she asked curiously. He tugged on his right earlobe.

“A minor miscalculation,” he muttered.

“I’d hate to see a major one then,” she said, shuddering playfully. He laughed.

“C’mon, let’s go see these rooms. Didn’t they look nice on the website? Oh, absolutely gorgeous! From the pictures, I could live in this place forever and be happy,” he rambled, ruffling a hand through his hair. Rose laughed and nodded along as he continued to go on about all the research he’d put in to this trip. She had to dodge his rapid gesticulations a few times to keep from getting hit. 

“Oh, this is nice!” she exclaimed as they stepped in to her room. 

The North Room was absolutely gorgeous. The bed had a soft, goose down duvets, and huge, fluffy, white pillows. There was a huge sliding door which opened out to a balcony with a view of the beach. Two comfortable-looking white chairs sat inside, just in front of the glass doors. It was large, spacious, and comfortable. Her mum had told her that both the rooms had Wi-Fi, Blu-ray players, some DVDs, tea and coffee making facilities, and a mini-bar with complimentary drinks and snacks. Rose and the Doctor smiled widely at each other.

“Let’s check out the bathroom?” Rose said excitedly. The Doctor held his hand out to her and wiggled his fingers in invitation. Rose took it without a thought. He tugged her toward the bathroom and they both gasped when it came in to view.

It was large, gorgeous, with a huge walk-in shower and double ended bath (which looked like it was made for two. Rose would think about that later.) It also had a beautiful view. 

“Can we go see mine now?” the Doctor asked eagerly. Rose nodded, matching his eagerness. She didn’t know what it was about this man, this near-stranger, that made her feel so comfortable, so at home. She fed off of his energy, feeling more alive than she had in a very long time. 

They set off on the short walk toward the South room and the Doctor chattered away about nothing, about the selection of DVDs in her room, hoping that there were different ones in his so that they could share. He talked about the snacks in the bar, about his delight at their being complimentary. Apparently he wasn’t a drinker, but when he found out that Rose did enjoy every now and then, he extolled the great selection of alcohol in the mini-bar for her, he told her that she was also welcome to his. 

The South room was much more vibrant and colourful. Red chairs took the place of the white ones from the North room. They, too, were just in front of the glass sliding doors. The balcony in the South room had a view of the second beach which was near the Salt house. The bed had the same white duvet as the North room, but it had a smaller, grey blanket draped across it. Two throw pillows sporting the Union Jack sat in front of the fluffy, white pillows.

The bathroom was a little smaller than Rose’s, but it had a walk-in shower, double ended tub, and view of the beach. 

“I don’t know about you, but I am starving!” the Doctor said once they were back in the bedroom. 

“Yeah, me too,” Rose said thoughtfully. She hadn’t eaten in a long time and her stomach was letting her know by attempting to eat itself.

“Well,” he drawled, grabbing her hand and dragging her out the door, their giggles bouncing off of the walls as they ran.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“So, Doctor,” Rose said, looking at him from across the table in the little café. 

“Yes, Rose?” he asked, looking down at his menu. He paused his search to flash her an encouraging grin.

“What do you do? You know that I work at Vortex Coffee, but I have no idea where you work… Or who you are, for that matter.  
For all I know, you could be a crazy serial-killing stalker. Are you a professional serial-killing stalker?” she asked, grinning with her tongue between her teeth.

“Only on the weekends,” he said, straight-faced. He and Rose held their expressions for a moment before both bursting into loud giggles.

“I’m a physicist,” he said once they settled down.

“PhD?” she asked, taking a sip of her drink.

“Yep!” he mirrored her, drinking from his cup as well. The straw made a horrific slurping sound as he finished his drink. He smiled sheepishly at Rose.

“Is that where the name comes from?”

“Nope!” he popped the ‘p’ and reached across the table. At first, Rose thought he was reaching for her hand. She was wrong. He snatched her drink up and finished it too.

“Doctor!” she whined, kicking his shin under the table.

“Oi, easy!” he whined back, reaching down to rub his leg.

“Don’t steal my drink, then,” she said simply, arching an  
eyebrow at him. The waitress came by and took their orders, fish and chips for both of them. She also refilled their drinks. 

“So, Rose Tyler… tell me about yourself. If we’re going to be seeing each other as much as we are for this next week, we may as well know each other.”

“My mum and dad are Jackie and Pete Tyler, I’ve got a little brother called Tony- he’s four. Hmmm… My best mates work at Vortex with me… I work a lot, even though I don’t really need to. I like my job, keeps me busy, yeah?” she said, shifting uncomfortably. The Doctor had fixed her with an intense stare, causing her to forget every single thing that had ever happened to her. 

“Pete Tyler, that’s how you can afford to take a week off from work?” he asked in a friendly, curious tone. 

“Yeah, the vacation wasn’t my idea though, my mum actually  
forced me to take it,” she said, laughing slightly.

“Jackie Tyler… I’ve heard she’s a bit of a fireball,” he said with a smirk. Rose nodded emphatically.

“You’ve got no idea.”

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“I’m so tired,” Rose said as they walked back toward the Salt House. The Doctor nodded, humming.

“I may get to sleep tonight,” he said absentmindedly. Rose’s brow furrowed.

“Insomniac?” she guessed. He started, glancing over at her.

“Yeah, I don’t sleep much,” he admitted. There was something in his eyes, something muted, but definitely there. There was more to the Doctor’s sleeplessness than just insomnia. 

“Were you planning on going to the beach tomorrow?” he asked suddenly, changing the subject. His eyes cleared of whatever was behind them and he bounced in anticipation of her answer.

“Yeah, ‘course. What else would I do?” she teased. He harrumphed. 

“I was just asking… Do you want to go together? So that we have someone to talk to and to watch our stuff when we kip off to the loo and to force to get us snacks?” he asked, a hopeful light in his eyes. Rose should probably politely decline. She didn’t even know this man. Having dinner and looking at their rooms together was one thing, but spending the entire day together, half naked? She should say no.

“Sure,” she said, “I’ll come by your room when I get up, yeah?”

“Perfect!” he beamed at her.

“Alright, goodnight, Doctor,” Rose leaned up on impulse and wrapped him in a quick hug. He froze for a second before melting in to her embrace.

“Goodnight, Rose Tyler,” he whispered. Rose shivered.

They parted ways, walking in to their rooms. 

RTRTRTRTRTRT

The Doctor walked over to his bathroom, deciding a shower was in order before an attempt at sleep. He stripped down and got under the hot spray of water, letting it soothe his muscles. He noticed that they weren’t as tense as they usually were at the end of the day. His thoughts drifted to the mysterious Rose Tyler. There was something about that woman, she drew him in like a moth to a flame. She was just a young girl, a coffee shop girl. A funny girl, a brilliant girl. She stood toe-to-toe with his wit, that wasn’t something that he found often. He scrubbed his hair and body before stepping out of the shower. He wrapped himself in a fluffy white towel and dried off. He put on some boxer-briefs and a white t-shirt. Flicking off his bedside lamp, he crawled in to bed. His last thoughts were of Rose’s tongue-touched smile before he drifted off.


	3. Chapter Three

The Doctor’s eyes fluttered open as he slowly came to consciousness. He grinned as the memories from yesterday flooded his mind. He stretched like a cat in the warm morning sunlight, wondering how long it’d be before she got up. If he was very lucky, she was an early riser and they’d be able to hit the beach soon. 

He sprung up from his bed and went to make some tea. He sat down in one of the vibrant red chairs in front of the balcony, sipping at his hot tea. He burnt his tongue on the hot, sugary liquid, of course. He did that every damn time. Poking his tongue out, he crossed his eyes in an attempt to observe it. He was unsuccessful. Just like every other time he tried to check his tongue after burning it. 

The Doctor shifted restlessly in his chair, glancing at the clock on the wall. He’d been up for ten whole minutes now and Rose seemed to still be asleep. He braced one palm against the chair, intending to get up and go check for himself. He relaxed back in to the chair, she would come when she was ready. Checking the clock again, he noted that about forty-five seconds had passed since he last checked. He sighed, dropping his head against the back of the chair. It was going to be a long morning.

He stood abruptly from his seat, sloshing tea over the lip of his mug and on to his hand. He swore quietly, grabbing a towel from his shower last night to dry it up. He walked over to the desk, dragging a rather large bag with him. When he sat at the desk, he unzipped the bag and pulled out something resembling an old laptop. It seemed like it had seen some rough days, curling wires exposed everywhere. He grabbed some strange tools out of the bag and set to work tinkering away at the computer. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

Rose snuffled, waking up gently. Warm sunlight was filtering in, pouring over her. She rubbed at her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair, which was piled in a nest on top of her head from her enthusiastic sleeping maneuvers. Rose Tyler was not a gentle sleeper by any means. She slowly worked up the courage and will power to get out of the warm cocoon of her bed. Once she finally got up, she made a quick trip to the loo. Ready for the day, she grabbed her beach bag and walked toward the Doctor’s room.

She trailed her fingers lightly along the wall as she walked, caught up in her thoughts. She was at his room without really remembering the walk there. She hadn’t been thinking about wonderful hair or bright, beaming grins, not at all. Just as she was raising her hand to knock on his door, it swung open. Rose gasped, jumping back. 

“Hello, sorry,” the Doctor said, grinning sheepishly, “I heard you walking down the hall.”

Was she seeing things, or was that a light blush on the tips of his ears? She smiled easily and shook her head.

“No problem, you ready to go?” she asked, raising her beach bag. That grin blossomed across his face again and he nodded, grabbing his own bag.

“Let’s go,” he said, offering his hand to her. She took it, taking in his attire for this morning. He’d shucked his suit for a pair of dark blue swim trunks and a t shirt for a band that Rose didn’t recognize. Rose herself was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a pink shirt. 

“You look nice,” he said, glancing down at her, he eyes lingering on her exposed legs for a second longer than he meant to. She smirked.

“Ta, you too.” She tugged him faster, encouraging him to run with her. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“I think we should probably have brekkie before we hit the beach, don’t you?” the Doctor asked once they made it out of the Salt House.

“I’m starving! D’you think we can find chips?” Rose asked excitedly.

“You want chips at eight in the morning?” the Doctor asked, chuckling.

“Chips don’t run on a schedule, Doctor. It’s always time for chips,” she said, bumping his shoulder with her own. He laughed.

“I bet we can scare up some chips for you, Rose Tyler.”

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

They found a little place that was serving chips and got themselves seated there. Rose ordered some chips and a burger. The Doctor, chastising Rose for not ordering proper breakfast, ordered a stack of banana pancakes, some bacon, and three eggs. 

“How the hell do you eat like that and still look like- well, like that?” Rose demanded.

“Fast metabolism,” he said with a cheeky grin, taking a sip of orange juice. Rose rolled her eyes and muttered about how unfair it was.

“Right, so fast metabolism, physicist, nice hair, that’s pretty much all I know about you, Doctor. Tell us about yourself,” Rose requested with a smile. The Doctor preened at her compliment of his frankly amazing hair.

“Let’s see… I love traveling, do it at every chance I get. Never let a vacation day go to waste, me. I’m actually an astrophysicist, I work at a university doing research. I’ve always loved the stars, when I was little my best friend and I used to star-gaze. Well, her granddad and I star-gazed. Donna just sort of complained,” the Doctor chuckled. 

“My best mate Donna works at Vortex, actually, I don’t think I mentioned that to you. I was looking for her when I went there the morning we met.”

“Oh, I love Donna! Yeah, she had an appointment and I was covering for her that morning,” Rose said.

“Yeah, she told me that later. Honestly, I’m glad that you were there instead of her,” he admitted, grinning. Rose raised an eyebrow at him, and his cheeks flushed.

“Because of the explosion, Donna would’ve had my head for that one,” he muttered. Rose laughed. The waitress came and brought them their food, and they were mostly silent while they ate, a comfortable, companionable kind of silent.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

The two beaches that flanked the Salt House were both a ten minute walk away. The Doctor and Rose looked toward one beach, then the other, and headed toward the first one. There seemed to be a silent, mutual agreement that they’d visit the other beach tomorrow. 

“So, your brother, Tony, tell me about him,” the Doctor requested. 

“Tony’s four, he’s a great kid. Hilarious, he is, and smart too. Got such a gob on him! He loves telling stories, he insists that they’re all one hundred percent true … He’s a performer, that kid is. Not satisfied until everyone’s at least got a smile on their face. Havin’ a bad day? Go visit Tony Tyler,” she said. The Doctor couldn’t help but notice the way that she lit up when she talked about her brother. 

“I love kids, me,” the Doctor said, swinging their hands back and forth as they walked. 

“Yeah? You’d adore Tony, you remind me a bit of him, actually,” she said with a grin. The Doctor flinched inwardly. He wasn’t sure what was going on with his feelings toward Rose Tyler, but he was one hundred percent positive that he did not want to remind her of her little brother. 

“Like a taller, madder version of him.” She gave him that smile that turned his knees liquid. The one with her tongue just barely peeking out. He definitely didn’t want to remind her of her brother. 

The Doctor stuttered for a moment, his mouth opening and closing. Rose laughed, tossing her head back. They arrived at the beach, both stopping in their tracks. 

“Wow,” Rose breathed. The Doctor nodded along, eyes bright. The beach was breathtaking, all hot, white sand and clear blue water. It wasn’t too crowded so the Doctor and Rose found a niche easily. They spread out towels to sit on and started stripping down to their suits. Rose was done first, though the Doctor had less clothing to take off. She was down to her pink suit in a flash, slathering sunscreen on her arms, legs, and stomach. It seemed like the Doctor had gotten distracted from simply taking his shirt off. 

“If you’re just gonna stand there with your mouth all agape, you could at least get m’back,” she teased, offering him the bottle. He uncurled his fingers from the hem of his shirt, taking the bottle with a light blush. 

“Turn,” he said, squirting some sunscreen in his palm. He reached out to start rubbing it in to her skin. 

_“You’ve got a tattoo?”_ he asked, sounding delighted.

Rose glanced back over her shoulder at him, eyes narrowed. 

“Yeah,” she said, sounding a little defiant. He beamed down at her shoulder, reaching out to stroke the tattoo with the pointer finger of his empty hand. 

“A wolf?” he asked softly, peering at it even closer.

“Yeah,” she repeated, sheepish now. The Doctor looked up at her, brow furrowed. There was a story here, he could feel it.

“What, like the Big Bad Wolf?” he teased. She nodded.

“That’s exactly what she is, yeah,” Rose blushed, rolling her shoulders.

“Why?” he asked simply. 

“Well, when I was little, yeah? I was terrified of the Bad Wolf, dunno why. That’s why I got it, conquering your fears and all, you know? But now… Now it feels like she’s protecting me. That sounds daft, but it’s true,” Rose bit her lip, still looking at the Doctor over her shoulder.

“‘She’,” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Rose’s eyes flashed.

“Yeah,” she insisted, “what, the Bad Wolf can’t be a girl?”

“No, ‘course she can! I think that’s right, actually. I think that’s perfect,” he said with a soft smile that Rose had trouble reading. It was incredibly tender, she wasn’t sure that anyone had ever looked at her quite like that before.

“You gonna do my back, or what?” she asked, raising a challenging eyebrow. The Doctor jumped.

“Right, yes, of course.” He dipped a couple fingers in to the cream in his palm and started rubbing in it to her shoulder. He took his time working it in to both of her shoulders and her back, he wanted to be thorough, after all. 

“You got it?” 

He licked his lips, pulling away. 

“Yep,” he said, popping the ‘p’. 

“And are you ever gonna take that off?” She gestured to his shirt, grinning teasingly. 

“Oh, right, yeah,” he muttered, whipping his shirt up and over his head. The friction left his hair wild. Rose’s eyes skimmed up his legs to his chest. When she got to his chest, her eyes widened. 

“ _You_ have a tattoo?” she demanded, eyes locked on it.

“Yes,” he sounded affronted. His hand came to rest on the anatomically correct heart that was inked in to the right side of his chest. 

“Why’ve you got a heart on your chest?” she asked, sounding confused.

“Well, where else would you put a heart?” he teased.

“Yeah, okay, but why’d you get it?” she pressed. Her hand drifted up and brushed his out of the way. She traced her finger along the beautiful tattoo. The Doctor shivered under her fingertips.

“I dunno, just felt… right… I suppose,” he whispered.

“It’s on the wrong side,” she said, looking up in his eyes.

“What?” 

“Your heart, it’s on the wrong side,” she repeated, her thumb still stroking it. 

“It isn’t!” he protested, subtly leaning in to her touch.

“It is though! Your heart doesn’t go on the right side, your heart is on the left,” she said, eyes wide. 

“And why, Rose Tyler, would I need two hearts on the left side of my chest?” he asked.

Rose rolled her eyes, smacking his second heart lightly. 

“C’mon, let’s hit the water!” Rose said, her hand sliding to lace their fingers together. They laughed as they ran to the water, hot sand burning their feet and burning sun pounding down on their backs. They splashed in to the blue water, both sighing with relief as the cool water eased their hot skin. Once they got deep enough, the Doctor dove under the water. He came up sputtering, shaking his head. His hair flung water everywhere. 

“Come on, Rose! You’ve got to get your hair wet!” he exclaimed, wading back to her.

“I will, I will! I’m just getting used to the water, that’s all,” she insisted.

“Oh of course,” the Doctor said understandingly, nodding. He was slowly edging his way over to her, hoping that she wouldn’t notice. When he got close enough, he dove back under the water and seized Rose by the ankles, taking her feet out from under her. A mix between a laugh and a shriek was cut off when she went under. They both came up a moment later, laughing and gasping for breath.

“You are so dead,” Rose said darkly. The Doctor gave her a challenging grin, wiggling at her. She pounced on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. He gave a shout as he went back under the water, taking her with him. They wrestled under the water until they couldn’t hold their breaths any more. They surfaced, laughing so hard that they weren’t making any noise. They clutched at each other, supporting each other to keep from falling back under the water, which was apparently hysterical water. 

They finally calmed down and separated from each other, standing on their own feet. 

“Wanna race?” Rose asked.

“Only if you’re not a sore loser,” the Doctor taunted. 

“You asked for it,” Rose muttered. The Doctor laughed.

“Hmmm… from here to that old lady with the rainbow umbrella?” he suggested, eyebrows raised. Rose eyed the distance and nodded. 

“Ready, set, go!” 

They took off, arms and legs pumping hard. They were neck-and-neck for a while, but soon the Doctor’s longer arms and legs began to give him an advantage. Rose allowed him to believe that she was getting winded, trying to get him to let his guard down. He did. Rose laughed inwardly, swimming hard just as they were nearing the lady. She finished a second ahead of him, whooping in victory.

“Cheater,” the Doctor muttered, panting.

“How could I cheat at this?” Rose asked with a smug grin, between pants for air. 

“Dunno, but you did,” he insisted. Rose rolled her eyes. She seemed to do that a lot around him. 

“C’mon, let’s get back on the sand. I wanna tan,” she said, making her way toward the shore. The Doctor followed her without question. They made it back to their beach towels and both flopped down on them, stretching out.

“You could use some real sun,” Rose teased the Doctor. He turned his head to look at her with narrowed eyes. 

“That’s rude, Rose,” he told her.

“It’s not my fault you’re so pasty, is it?” she asked, eyes closed, contented smile on her face. He smiled softly at her, humming in the back of his throat.

“Doesn’t make it any nicer to bring up,” he insisted. He could tell that her eyes were rolling beneath their lids and he breathed out a chuckle. 

“Just be quiet and soak up the radiation, yeah?” she said. 

“Fine, fine,” he sighed.

“That doesn’t sound like silence to me,” Roes sing-songed.

They spent a long, exhausting day at the beach, playing and laughing and swimming. They stayed out until the sun went down, eating sandwiches that Rose had packed for them. The Doctor insisted that tomorrow he wanted to build a sandcastle. He told Rose that he was the best sandcastle builder in the universe. She was learning that he was either completely truthful when he made these claims, or lying terribly. There was no in-between with this man. They slumped back to the Salt House, practically leaning on each other for support. 

“G’night, Rose Tyler,” the Doctor said, words slurring. He leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead without thinking. Rose smiled.

“G’night, Doctor.” They went to their rooms, took sleepy showers, and crawled in to bed, falling to sleep straight away.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To my Cupcake, you know which part of this you inspired. This chapter is dedicated to you. <3

Rose woke to the sound of rain pounding down on the sliding glass door. Her eyes fluttered open, confused. She turned her head to gaze out of the door, befuddled, eyes narrowing. She groaned as her brain finally registered the storm outside and just what that would do to her beach day. Her frustration had nothing at all to do with the fact that she was positive she’d not see the Doctor because of it. Her bare feet hit the floor with a dull thump as she rolled out of bed, just catching herself from falling flat on her face. 

A loud knock on her door made her jump, startled. She tugged the strap of her vest top back in to place from where it had slipped down as she walked toward the door to open it.

“Rose?” a familiar voice called through the wood, causing a wide grin to blossom across her face. She flung the door open, grinning madly. 

“Good morning, Rose Tyler,” he said, his tongue caressing her name in that wonderful way that only he did. She tried to ignore the shiver and slight blush that it elicited from her.

“Morning,” she chirped, tongue caught in between her teeth in a smile. She was suddenly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. The Doctor was dressed in a simple white t-shirt and soft grey shorts. His hair seemed particularly surprised this morning, it looked like he had rolled out of bed and come straight to her room. Rose suppressed a smile at that thought. 

“It looks like our beach day is cancelled,” he said, leaning against her doorframe. She mirrored his posture, leaning against the door.

“Looks like it,” she said, biting her bottom lip. 

“So…” he drawled, “got and plans for the day?”

Rose laughed, shaking her head.

“Nah, just woke up and saw the rain. Have _you_ got plans?” she asked.

“Nope,” he said quickly, popping the ‘p’. Rose grinned even wider.

“Well,” the Doctor drawled, sounding a little nervous, “I actually might have had an idea for some plans…” 

“Oh yeah? What’s that, then?” she asked, lifting an eyebrow teasingly.

“I thought that maybe I could stay in all day, watch the rain, watch some movies… But that’s no fun on its own, is it?” he said, eyes hopeful. 

“What, you want to spend all day vegging out together?” Both eyebrows were near her hairline now. 

“I mean, I was just hoping to spend some more time with- Ahh, that is to say, didn’t want to miss out on a whole day togeth- Errrr… I want, I mean, only if you want to spend the day-” he cleared his throat, cheeks flushed, “yes, I would like to spend all day vegging out together. If you want.” Rose thought he might actually tug his ear off if he kept pulling on it like he was.

“Doctor, of course I’d like to spend the day vegged out with you,” she said, laughing. The Doctor visibly relaxed, breathing out. 

“Right, yes, well, which room should we stay in?” he asked, running a hand through his hair.

“We can take whatever we need from here and head back to yours,” Rose offered, stepping back to invite him in to her room. 

He nodded jerkily as he stepped inside. Rose laughed at the look on his face. He looked positively shocked that she had agreed to spend the day with him, which Rose found odd since they had been spending all their time together on this vacation so far. 

“Y’alright there, Doctor?” she asked over her shoulder, walking over to the DVDs to pick some out to bring with them.

“What? Yes, sorry, yes,” he said, eyes wide. He was surprised that she had taken him up on his offer. Spending the day in the quiet of his room was very different from spending it together on a loud, crowded beach. Honestly, he was thrilled. He shook himself and joined her at the DVD collection. They picked out a good few that they wanted to see and raided the mini fridge for snacks, stuffing all their loot in to one of Rose’s bags.

“Ready to go?” the Doctor asked, waggling his eyebrows at her.

“Yeah, I think so,” she said, looking around the room for anything else she might need. She caught her reflection in the glass of the window and blushed suddenly. 

“What, what’s wrong?” he asked, concerned. 

Rose shook her head, muttering something under her breath as she fled to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, brushed her hair (which looked a bit like a tornado had gone through it), put a bra on underneath her vest top, kept her sleep shorts on, and returned to the main room, still blushing. 

The Doctor blushed as well when he noticed her altered, slightly more put-together appearance. He couldn’t help but notice she was missing a bra when he arrived, but he didn’t say anything. What exactly could he have said anyway? ‘Hey, Rose, you might wanna put a bra on because I can see your wonderful breasts quite clearly through that vest’? No, much more polite not to mention it. It’s not like he was exactly bothered by the lack of a bra, was it? Not that he was looking, of course not. Well, not much. As soon as he had caught himself, he’d stopped. He didn’t want to objectify Rose’s body in any way. 

“Doctor?” Rose repeated, waving a hand in front of his face. He jerked, coming back to the present.

“Sorry,” he muttered, picking up their bag, “got lost in thought for a second.”

“What were you thinking about?” she asked with interest. He blushed again, shaking his head.

“Nothing,” he assured her, taking her hand and leading her toward the door. He couldn’t get over how often he was blushing, he never blushed! He was blushing an obscene amount for a grown man, and it was all due to Rose Tyler. Somehow he knew she’d take delight in that if he told her. He decided to keep it to himself. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT 

“Right, make yourself at home,” the Doctor said, spreading his arms wide.

“Was gonna do that anyway,” Rose teased, plopping down on his bed. The Doctor grinned widely, sitting gracelessly down next to her. He ran his fingers through his hair and tapped his feet on the floor, gazing at Rose. Her breath caught when she saw what his tongue was up to. It was gliding along his top teeth, his eyes were on her mouth. Rose was pretty positive that he was about to snog the life out of her. Her breath sped up, they both leaned in, eyelids drooping. Suddenly, the Doctor sprung to his feet. Rose jerked back with a shocked gasp, eyes wide.

“So, a movie then?” he asked, tugging his ear with one hand and rubbing the back of his neck with the other. Rose breathed out roughly, wiping her hands on her legs. 

“Yeah, yeah, sounds great,” she said, nodding. That was close. Incredibly close. Too close. She’d have to watch that from now on. She’d fallen hard and fast for a man before, look how well that turned out for her. No, she’d do better to keep boundaries up with this gorgeous, manic genius. She knew he could feel it too, that they were slipping, falling, and it was too fast, too intense for the few days they’d known each other. She could easily see them returning home to London, becoming mates, best mates even, with the way they clicked. She’d like that, she’d like it a lot. 

Being his friend for a long time to come would be much better than having a hot fling on vacation and going home, never to see each other again. That’s what would happen, she was sure. Because the universe wouldn’t let her have her cake and eat it too. She couldn’t be with someone who made her feel like the Doctor made her feel, but she _could_ be his friend. They could have movies and pizzas and races. Maybe the universe would allow them that. Rose suspected that this arrangement wouldn’t upset the universe too much because she’d still feel unfulfilled, while getting to keep him in her life. It would probably like that, actually. Knowing that her skin burned for him and there was nothing she could do about it. She’d learned her lesson with Jimmy, anyone who made you feel that way would be taken from you, or leave you, and then you’d be alone again, mourning for the good old days. She was pulled from her angsty thoughts by the Doctor’s voice. 

“Rose? Which one do you want to watch?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed. He licked his bottom lip, leaving it glistening in the wake of his pink tongue. Rose cleared her throat, pointing to a random movie. He nodded, popping it in to the Blu-ray player.

“Should we drag those chairs over here, or sit against the headboard?” he asked, shifting his hips in a little dance, back and forth from the chairs to the bed. Rose laughed, scooting up to the headboard and patting the bed next to her. He clambered up next to her, the two of them cuddling down under the duvet. 

Rose had meant to keep a respectable distance from him, but when he sidled up next to her like that, it was instinct to curl in to his warmth, resting her head on his shoulder. He smiled softly, swinging an arm around her shoulders and pulling her tighter to him. She hid a smile in his arm, getting it under control before turning her attention to the movie, which turned out to be Beauty and the Beast.

“What, really? Beauty and the Beast?” she asked with a delighted laugh.

“You did choose it,” he reminded her shaking her shoulder a little. 

“Yeah, but you gave me the option,” she said, still looking pleased as punch. 

“Love a good Disney movie, me,” he said, completely unabashed.   
Like it wasn’t difficult enough to keep her romantic distance from him, now he loved Disney movies too. 

Rose sighed, snuggling closer to him, “I love this movie, it’s my favourite Disney one.” 

He hummed happily in the back of his throat, resting his cheek on her head. 

The Doctor’s thoughts were wandering, though they stayed centred on Rose. He was developing some very intense feelings for the beautiful woman who was using him as a pillow. That was bad, very, very bad. He had a bit of a habit of ruining all the beautiful things in his life, one way or another. Rose Tyler was by far the most beautiful thing to ever enter his life. He couldn’t help but think of how much it would hurt if he allowed himself to get attached to her and she was taken from him. More likely still, she’d leave him once she figured out how messed up he was. Early childhood trauma had warped him, kept him from developing normal relationships. The universe hated him, it was the only conclusion he could draw. It shoved this wonderful creature in his life just to taunt him, knowing that he could never pursue anything with her, couldn’t risk either of their hearts that way. Maybe he could be her friend, her protector. Not that Rose needed anyone to protect her, that was, but he still liked the idea. The thought that she might need him for something. That was a beautiful thought, it made him feel like nothing ever had before. It sent a shiver of warmth through him. He’d do his best to be there for her, support her, and maybe one day she would need him. 

Look at him, he’d known this woman for a few days! Why did it feel like an eternity? _Why did it feel like he already needed her?_ The only thing he could think of was that he did need her already, and he would do everything in his power to keep her in his life for as long as she wanted to be there. 

“– Love this scene,” Rose was saying when he tuned back in. 

“What was that?” he asked, glancing down at the top of her head. She twisted to look at him.

“I said I love this scene,” she said, biting her lip. All he could think was that he wanted to bite that lip for her. 

“Mm, me too,” he said, eyes locked on her lip. Rose noticed his line of sight and grinned, poking her tongue out the side of her mouth. She saw his breath catch when he saw her tongue, she could practically see his desire to suck on it. Her cheeks flooded with colour. They snapped their gazes apart from each other, both flushed, breathing heavily. Rose started chuckling at the madness of the two of them, the Doctor joined in. Soon they were both howling with laughter, clutching at each other and gasping for breath. The tension broke and they relaxed once the laughter subsided. They watched the movie in comfortable companionship, swapping details about their lives. Rose learned that he was adopted into Donna Noble’s family, raised by her grandfather. Technically, he was her uncle, though they had grown up like siblings. When he was feeling particularly cheeky, he liked to remind Donna that she was actually his niece. The Doctor learned that Rose’s biological father had died when she was a baby, and that Pete Tyler was actually her step-father. She’d grown up on a Council Estate with her mum, Jackie. Tony was her half-brother, the son of Jackie and Pete. Pete was like Rose’s actual father, and had been from the start. Something about the two of them had clicked, they were closer than Jackie would have ever dreamed of. Rose had quit school before she got her A-levels, though she was wickedly smart. She’d done well on her GCSEs. She didn’t say why she’d quit school. He didn’t mention what had happened to his biological family. Today wasn’t a day for the sadness that coloured both of their pasts, it was a day for getting to know the best of each other, basking in each others presence. 

“Oh, Doctor,” Rose exclaimed suddenly with a wide grin. He knew that grin already. That grin was sure to mean trouble for him, because he could deny it nothing.

“Yes?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow. 

“Dance with me?” she asked, looking at him from beneath her eyelashes. The famous ball room dance scene was playing. He sighed.

“Alright, alright,” he said, standing up. He bowed, offering her his hand. Rose squealed, taking his hand and letting him pull her up to her feet. He pulled her close, resting his hands on her hips. 

She wrapped her arms around his neck and they swayed to the music, the room too small to allow for anything more. Rose rested her head against his shoulder, sighing in contentment. The Doctor reveled in that sound, realizing just how much trouble he was in. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“I think we should go have dinner somewhere,” Rose said a few movies later. They were just finishing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire now.

“Hmmm,” the Doctor said, patting his stomach, “yeah, I could eat.”

“I bet you could,” she muttered, glaring at his flat stomach. He laughed, hopping up off of the bed. 

“I’m just going to pop in the loo and change, meet you at your room?” he asked, headed toward the bathroom. 

“Yeah, see you in a few!”

RTRTRTRTRTRTRT

He knocked on her door, tugging at the hem of his t-shirt. 

“It’s open!” Rose yelled, probably from the bathroom. He let himself in. 

“You just about ready?” he asked, sitting on her bed. 

“Yeah, just a minute,” she said. The door opened soon after, Rose stepping out. They had both changed into jeans and t-shirts. 

Rose offered the Doctor her hand. He took it happily and they headed for a chippy around the corner. 

They walked in, a bell announcing their presence to the staff. 

They each ordered a basket of chips and took seats. 

“So Doctor,” Rose began nervously, biting her nail.

“Mhmm?” He encouraged with a soft grin.

“What’s your real name? Your proper one?” She bit her lip, shifting in her seat. 

“James,” he said, looking her in the eyes, “James Noble.”  
She nodded, seeming satisfied, and very pleased that she hadn’t upset him. She rested her head on her palm, grinning at him.

“That’s a good name,” she said, “got nothing on ‘Doctor’, mind, but a nice name still.”

He laughed easily, his eyes sparkling. Rose laughed along with him. There was something dark in the Doctor's past, something that had hurt him terribly. Rose desperately wished to know, wanted to know every bit of him. She could already sense a change in him. A difference even between their day at the beach and their quiet day together watching movies. There was a relaxation of the manic energy that always accompanied him. He was still exuberant and excited of course, but it was less cover-up and more genuine zeal for life. Rose couldn't help the small part of her that hoped she had at least a little bit to do with that. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“Do you wanna go back to your room, or would you like to watch some more films?” he asked, swinging their joined hands between them.

“I’d like to go to my room, shower, change, then come to yours,” she said. 

“We could pick up clothes from your room and you could use my shower,” he offered, telling himself that it wasn’t because he didn’t want to spend time apart from her. Rose thought for a moment before nodding.

“Yeah, that sounds fine,” she said. 

“Alright, great! Let’s go get your stuff.” 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“Y’know, your bathroom is smaller than mine,” Rose said through the door, already stripping down for her shower. 

“Well, my room’s prettier than yours!” he exclaimed, flopping down on his bed. He laughed as Rose mocked him. 

She stepped under the hot spray of the water, moaning in relief. Her muscles relaxed under the soothing water as she shampooed and conditioned her hair. Next she washed her face and body, scrubbing them thoroughly. She was trying to keep her thoughts off the fact that she was naked in the Doctor’s shower, but it wasn’t going very well. She felt a familiar twisting in her stomach and tried to stamp down all thoughts of his wild hair and flailing fingers and that tongue of his that was always licking _everything_. She sighed in frustration at herself, turning off the water and stepping out, wrapping herself in a fluffy towel. 

Soon the bathroom door opened with a puff of steam and Rose stepped out, wearing a hot pink vest top and pair black of pajama bottoms. 

“Right, I’ll hop in the shower then we’ll start with another movie! I think we should keep up the Harry Potter marathon we started,” he said with a grin. She nodded, ruffling his hair as he passed by her. He laughed in delight, slipping in the bathroom. 

Rose stared at her hand in amazement. She hadn’t meant to   
ruffle his hair like that, she didn’t know what had come over her. Clearly he hadn’t minded though. 

He was out of his clothes and under the water faster than he could blink, eager to return to Rose. _To the movie marathon_ , he reminded himself, _the movie marathon._ He quickly washed his hair and body, keeping his hands above waist-level as often as possible. He toweled off, pulling on a pair of dark red boxer briefs and a blue t-shirt. He paused for a moment, wondering if he should put a pair of shorts on over his boxers. He observed himself in the mirror, gazing at his crotch and bum. He looked good. He decided to chance the boxers, if she said anything or looked uncomfortable, he’d put on some shorts. 

He exited the bathroom, biting his lip. Rose greeted him, sounding excited for his return. He smiled madly, bounding over to the bed and flopping down, bouncing Rose up. She giggled, lifting the covers for him to get under. She’d noticed his boxer briefs, and was very supportive of them. If it were up to her, he’d wear just them all the time. They snugged up together, falling silent. Rose’s head took its place back on his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her. He flicked off the lamp and they settled in even further. Before they knew it, they had drifted off to sleep in each others arms, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix playing in the background.


	5. Chapter Five

The Doctor snuffled, shying away from whatever was tickling his nose. He wasn’t ready to get up yet, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept as well as he had last night. The tickling at his nose finally won out and he opened his eyes, smiling lazily at the sight he was met with. Rose was curled around him, her head on his chest, his arms wrapped around her. His only thought was that this was a sight he could get used to. He jerked suddenly, shaking that thought from his head. The smile stayed stubbornly on his face, refusing to be dampened down. He sighed, pressing his nose to her hair and breathing in deeply. God, she smelled wonderful. He couldn’t help but press a light kiss to the top of her head, his arms tightening around her.  


Rose sighed happily, nuzzling in to the warm chest under her cheek. She froze, _warm chest?_ Shouldn’t that be a pillow? What the hell had she gotten herself in to this time? Her eyes peeked slowly open, observing a chest that was covered in a blue t-shirt. It was a nice chest if she was honest, firm and strong, though lithe. Her head cleared as she realized whose chest it was, a blush creeping in to her cheeks. She was sleeping on _the Doctor’s chest._ Oh god, this wasn’t going to be good, he’d probably kick her out now and never speak to her again. He’d probably only let her stay this long out of politeness. She felt him shift, pressing his nose against her hair and breathing in. He kissed her head and pulled her even closer to his warm body. She relaxed, realizing that he didn’t mind their arrangement. Rose turned her head, pressing her face to his chest. It took all of her willpower to keep from kissing him.  


“Rose?” he whispered.  


“Yeah?” she answered.  


“You awake?”  


“Obviously,” she laughed quietly, smiling into his shoulder. He laughed along with her.  


“Guess we fell asleep last night…” he muttered.  


“Seems like it,” she said.  


“That alright?” he asked hesitantly.  


“Yeah,” she answered quickly, assuredly. He grinned, nuzzling his face into her hair again. Rose laughed in delight, deciding that they could do with a bit of a cuddle before getting up.  


“It’s still raining,” he whispered. Rose closed her eyes and hummed in the back of her throat.  


“It’s like Noah’s bloody flood out there,” she muttered. The Doctor laughed, rolling out of bed without warning. Rose flopped face-first on the bed, surprised at suddenly losing her support.  


“Thanks for that,” she muttered into the mattress.  


The Doctor laughed, bent in double at the waist.  


“Sorry, sweetheart,” he said, walking quickly to the bathroom to relieve his bladder (and take care of a certain problem that had arisen during the night that he hoped Rose hadn’t noticed yet). When the door shut behind him, he froze, realizing what he had called her during his quick escape.  


“Shit,” he muttered, banging his head on the door.  


Rose was sitting on the bed, staring at the bathroom door. She heard a dull thump and grinned, imagining what he was doing. He emerged soon, still red-faced from his accidental pet name slip.  


“Hello, love,” Rose said teasingly, with a tongue-touched smile.  


“Shut up,” he muttered, blushing brighter. She heard him mutter something about how much she could make a grown man blush and it sent her in to a fit of giggles. The Doctor pounced on her, tickling her mercilessly. Rose squealed with laughter, squirming away from him. She squirmed right off the bed, the Doctor managing to keep her from hitting too hard with his arms wrapped around her.  


“Oh god, I’m so sorry, Rose,” he gasped, pulling her back up next to him. He checked her for injuries nervously.  


“I’m fine, Doctor, I’m okay,” she said, putting her hands on top of his to calm his anxious fingers.  


“I’m sorry,” he repeated.  


“I’m fine.”  


“Okay, but I’m still sorry,” he said, wrapping her up in a hug. Rose shook her head in exasperation, hugging him back.  


“Alright, let me go you lump. I’ve got to go to the loo,” she said.  


RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT  


Once they were both dressed, they sat down in the chairs that looked out on the balcony.  


“What are we gonna do today?” Rose asked, gazing at the rain pounding down on the glass.  


“I heard there’s a brilliant museum not too far from here, and there’s a planetarium with an amazing midnight show. The clouds should be cleared out in time for it… If you want to see it, that is,” he said.  


“You gonna let me see some of that information you’ve got in that big brain of yours?” Rose asked with a teasing grin. The Doctor chuckled.  


“Yeah, if you like,” he said, holding his hand out to her. She took it, lacing their fingers together.  


“I bet you know all sorts of useless information. You seem the type with your Einstein hair and those brainy specs and the suit that I saw you in,” Rose said thoughtfully, gazing at him. Their linked hands dangled in the space between them, swinging.  


“Oi, it’s hardly useless!” he exclaimed, indignant. Rose laughed.  


“Sorry sorry, I’m positive it’s very important,” she acknowledged, nodding seriously. He huffed, squeezing her fingers. She bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing again.  


“You never know what information will come in handy, Rose Tyler. It’s best to be ready for anything.” Rose nodded again, turning to look out the window with a smile.  


“D’you think the museum is open yet?” she asked, running her thumb along his fingers unconsciously. He looked at the clock on his bedside table. His head cocked back and forth, face crinkling in thought.  


“Yeah, should be… Will be by the time we get there anyway,” he finally said. He and Rose stood up in synch, hands staying clasped.  


“Let’s go then!”  


RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT  


The Doctor and Rose arrived at the museum in about half an hour, after a comfortable taxi ride. It was spent in relative silence, Rose dozing against the Doctor’s shoulder. He was wide awake, but more than content to play the part of Rose’s pillow. He leaned his head against hers, murmuring random facts about museums to her softly.  


When they arrived, he lifted his shoulder a little, nudging her awake.  


“Mmm? I’m up,” she said, sitting up quickly. The Doctor laughed.  


“We’re here,” he said softly.  


“Yeah, I know… because I’m up,” she insisted, eyes still a little unfocused from her short nap.  


“Right, ‘course- sorry,” he said with a smile, opening the door and sliding out.  


“C’mon! So much history, so little time,” he called, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Rose grumbled as she got out of the cab, stretching her back. He took her hand, tugging her toward the building. The Doctor chattered enthusiastically, a wide, beaming smile on his face. That smile was quickly becoming Rose’s favorite sight in the world and being the cause of it made her knees weak.  


“Okay, how come you know so much about museums?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.  


“I dunno, I’ve always loved them. I spend a lot of time in them, guess I picked some things up,” he said, bumping her shoulder with his. She hummed in the back of her throat.  


They wandered about the museum, the Doctor giving her a better tour than a guide probably could have. She didn’t know how his head didn’t explode from the sheer amount of information in it.  


“And now we come upon… ancient Greece!” he exclaimed, reading the sign.  


“Oh, you’ll love ancient Greece,” he said, leading her through the exhibit.  


“Let’s see what we’ve got here…” he bent down, reading the sign in front of the statue.  


“A statue of the Goddess Fortuna! Said to bring good luck,” he said, finally looking up at the piece of art. He gasped as his eyes landed on it.  


“Rose,” he whispered.  


“Is it just me or does she look like… me?” Rose said, leaning closer.  


“No, you’re right! She does,” he said, leaning in as well.  


“Well isn’t that wizard,” he whispered, looking at Rose with a delighted grin.  


“That’s it,” he said, “you’re my Fortuna! You’re my good luck charm.”  


Rose laughed incredulously, shaking her head.  


“Like a four leaf clover or lucky pants?” she said, still laughing.  


“Yes. You, Rose Tyler, are my lucky pants.” He put his arm around her shoulders, guiding them away from Fortuna.  


“Wait, let’s take a picture!” Rose said, spinning around. She posed next to the statue and the Doctor took the picture with his phone, grinning like a loon.  


“Beautiful,” he whispered.  


RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT  


They made their way through the entire museum, wandering until their feet were aching, laughing until they thought their sides would split.  


“So, back to the Salt House for some movies until it’s time to go to the planetarium?” the Doctor asked, raising an eyebrow.  


“Yeah, we could order some food too, I’m starved,” Rose said. They got a cab and headed back to the Salt House.  


The Doctor was doing something on his phone. Rose leaned in to rest her head on his shoulder and was surprised when he turned the phone away from her. She looked up at him, an amused smile on her face. She noticed a light blush in his cheeks and knew she couldn’t let this one rest.  


“Whatcha doin’ there, Doctor?” she asked, leaning around to try and get a glimpse at his phone.  


“Texting your girlfriend?” Rose couldn’t help but pray to god that he wasn’t.  


“No,” he muttered, “I haven’t got a girlfriend and you know that.” He seemed a little affronted at the thought.  


“Well what are you doing then?” she pushed.  


“It’s nothing!” he insisted, blushing harder.  


“No way it’s nothing,” Rose said, shaking her head.  


“C’mon, Doctor!” she asked, looking up at him from underneath her lashes. He sighed, grumbling under his breath as he handed her his phone. Rose’s eyes widened, a soft smile coming to her face. The Doctor had set his wallpaper to the picture of her and Fortuna. Rose said nothing, handing him his phone back. She pressed closer to him, snuggling her face into his neck. The Doctor breathed out, wrapping an arm around her.  


RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT  


They both dozed a bit on the ride home. They both woke up when the cab stopped in front of the House.  


“What time is it now?” Rose asked sleepily.  


“About six,” he said without consulting his watch. He rubbed at his eyes.  


“Really? That’s it? It feels way later,” she said, climbing out of the car.  


“We had an eventful day,” he agreed, getting out after her.  


“I’m thinking Chinese,” Rose said, lacing their fingers together and tugging him toward the entrance.  


“Mmm, sounds good to me,” he said, rubbing his stomach with his free hand.  


“You order, I’ll be meet you at your room in a minute, okay?” she said. He nodded and they parted ways.  


RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT  


Rose packed a bag full of the things that she thought she’d need for the night and trooped back to the Doctor’s room. She opened the door, calling to the Doctor that she was back. He was already in the bed, phone cradled between his shoulder and his ear. Rose smiled at the sight, dropping her bag and sitting down next to him. They ordered their food and settled in, starting up a movie.  


“Y’know, I don’t think I’ve ever watched so many movies in one week before,” Rose said.  


“Me neither,” the Doctor said. When the delivery boy knocked at the door, he got up and got the food from him.  


“Want to eat at the table, or in bed?”  


“Hmm, table. I don’t want to get crumbs in the bed,” Rose decided, hopping up. They spread their meal out on the small table and tucked in. They shared containers, feeding each other bites and passing cartons back and forth.  


“Oh shit,” Rose said, pushing a carton away.  


“What, what’s wrong?” he asked in concern.  


“I’m not sure, but I think there’s pear in that one. Ugh, why would you do that? I hate pears. Give me an apple or a banana any day,” she muttered, shuddering. She looked up at the Doctor, her brow furrowing at the look on his face. He looked absolutely awestruck.  


“What?” she asked self-consciously. He just shook his head, beaming at her. He picked up the carton with the dreaded pear and tossed it in the bin.  


“I hate pears too,” he whispered to his rice, taking a bite. Rose breathed out a laugh.  


“They’re terrible, they are,” she said, nodding.  


RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT  


Hours later, they were finally on their way to the planetarium.  


“Now you _really_ get to see my stuff,” the Doctor said, wiggling his eyebrows at her.  


“So that was just a teaser at the museum?” Rose asked, laughing.  


“Oh yes! I’m all about a bit of teasing, me,” he said with a giggle. Rose’s eyebrows shot up, a startled laugh bursting from her.  


“I bet you are,” she said lowly, biting her lip. The Doctor’s grin slid off his face and he swallowed hard.  


“Yep,” he squeaked out, clearing his throat. Rose shook her head, pulling him toward the door.  


RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT  


They were seated in the main dome of the planetarium, giggling like children and waiting for the show to begin.  


“Some people believe that there are parallel universes, you know,” the Doctor said suddenly, looking in her eyes.  


“Yeah? Like, universes that are like ours but a tiny bit different?”  


“Some are a tiny bit different, some are very, very different,” he said, wonder in his voice.  


“What do you believe?” she asked, totally enraptured by him.  


“I like to believe that they’re out there,” he whispered.  


“Me too,” she whispered back. They were leaning closer to each other with every word. They sprung apart suddenly when the show started without warning. They both laughed nervously, clearing their throats.  


RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT  


They got into trouble for talking too much during the show. The Doctor had merely been giving Rose a more in-depth description of the wonderful universe around them, but when they told the worker that, they were still ushered out.  


“I dunno about you,” Rose said, “but I am knackered.”  


The Doctor stretched, groaning.  


“Me too,” he said, “can’t wait to get back to the room and get some sleep.”  


A short cab ride later they were back at the Salt House, in the Doctor’s room. They took quick showers and dressed for bed, the Doctor in boxers and a t shirt and Rose in shorts and a vest top like normal. They turned down the covers and got in to bed.  


“G’night, Doctor,” Rose whispered, laying her head on his chest.  


“G’night, my Fortuna,” he said, pulling her close. They drifted off to sleep quickly.


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's been so long. I suck so much guys, I'm sorry. This chapter was different for me (I'm sure you'll be able to tell why if you've read my work...) Please let me know what you think! Just fixed the formatting issue from yesterday, sorry about that! Thank you for sticking with me! <3

The Doctor woke up slowly, feeling warmer than he had in a very long time. (Well, not counting yesterday morning, that is). Rose was cuddled up on his chest, arms wrapped around him. He sighed in contentment, full of happiness and love. He jerked back in shock at his own thoughts. _Too fast, too much._ He hopped out of bed quickly, rushing to the bathroom before Rose had even realized where her pillow went. 

He looked at himself in the mirror, taking deep breaths to center himself. He needed some distance, that’s all. A minute away from her to make himself realize that it’s just the lack of space ramping up his feelings. He couldn’t love her, not yet. It hadn’t even been a week. No, it was just proximity. Right? The Doctor swallowed, shaking his head. They’d take the day apart from each other, he decided. 

Once he felt in control of himself, he rejoined Rose in the main room. Rose beamed at him from the bed, her hair an absolute nest on top of her head. He couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face if his life had depended on it. 

“So, where are we off to today? The weather’s cleared up, I was thinking we could hit the beach again,” Rose said, giving him a look full of an emotion that he didn’t want to acknowledge, a soft smile on her face.

“Who said we were doing something together toady? Do we have to spend every day together?” he asked harshly (much, much more harshly than he intended), unable to make eye contact. The words felt vile and cruel, leaving a bad taste in his mouth. 

“Oh,” Rose said. His eyes snapped up to meet hers. The look in her eyes felt like a punch to the stomach. He saw her swallow, getting out of bed. 

“Yeah, you’re right. Dunno what I was thinking,” she muttered. If he thought this would be better than the way he felt when he woke up, he was an absolute moron. He’d never felt like a bigger twat, never wanted to take back words so badly. 

“I’ll just… I’ll just go, yeah?” she said, snatching her bag up and walking to the door. 

“Rose,” he croaked, his hand reaching out toward her.

“No, you’re right. I’m going to the beach today, maybe I’ll see you around before we go home.” Then she was out the door. He couldn’t help but notice that all the light in the room seemed to leave with her. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

Rose didn’t really know why she was so upset. It wasn’t that big of a deal. Why should he be expected to spend his entire vacation with some girl he didn’t even know? It was rational that he wanted some time to himself. She should want some time to herself too. So why didn’t she? For the first time, she regretted even coming on this vacation. 

She knew one thing; she was damn well going to the beach today. She got her bikini out and headed for the shower, determined that this would be the best day of vacation so far.  
She showered and got dressed, heading out of the Salt House, ignoring the aching feeling in the pit of her stomach. He wanted her to go. She felt pathetic for wanting to cling to him so badly.  
Rose headed for the beach -the one that she and the Doctor  
hadn’t gone to.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

The Doctor was still staring at the door five minutes later. He finally managed to shake himself and move from the spot he’d been rooted to. _Maybe I’ll see you around before we go home?_

Oh no, this wasn’t what he wanted at all. Not in the least. He wanted to run after her and explain that he was just feeling overwhelmed, that he didn’t want to waste a single second of his dwindling time with her. She took her things and left. How could she just take her things and leave? A voice that sounded suspiciously like Donna reminded him of exactly who had _told_ her to leave. What if she didn’t come back? What if that was the last time he ever saw her? No, he was being ridiculous, they were living right next to each other for the rest of the week. They lived in the same city, she worked with his sister. He’d see her again. He realized the issue wasn’t whether he’d see her again, but whether she’d want to see him again. 

He hadn’t meant to speak to her that way. No one should ever speak to Rose Tyler that way. If anyone else did that when he was around… He didn’t even want to think of what he’d do to them.

He’d just wanted to gently suggest that maybe they should take the day apart, get their bearings. They’d obviously meet back up tonight and everything would be okay. Better than okay, it’d be easier, the feelings wouldn’t be as intense. But he’d walked out and she looked at him like that and his heart was going to burst and he had to do something. _Congratulations, dumbo, you did something alright,_ Donna’s voice said. He could practically feel her slapping him on the back of the head. 

The Doctor sat down heavily on the bed, wondering what he should do to fix this. He knew one thing for sure, he couldn’t go after her. She’d want some space from him. Hell, he wanted some space from himself. Since that wasn’t really an option, he decided that he’d spend the day in his room, tinkering and waiting for Rose to come back. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

Rose was laying out on a beach chair, eyes closed when a shadow loomed over her, blocking her sunlight. Her first thought was that it was the Doctor, come to apologize and spend the day with her after all. Her eyes opened slowly. Her hopes were crushed when her gaze fell upon the man standing over her.  
Rose sat up, looking the man up and down. He was a fit bloke, tall with thick, dark hair. A pretty boy, exactly her type. 

“Hi,” he said, grinning and sitting on the chair next to her.

“Hi,” she said, doing her best not to let her disappointment show on her face.

“I’m Jack.” He had an American accent. 

“Rose,” she said, smiling at him. 

“Oh, very Titanic,” he said jokingly. Rose laughed, nodding. 

“Can I ask you a question, Rose?” he asked. Rose hesitated, wondering what this gorgeous American wanted.

“Sure, what is it?”

“Why did you look like I had kicked your puppy when you opened your eyes?”

Rose’s cheeks flooded with colour as she looked around for an excuse, coming up blank. 

“Hoping for someone different?” he suggested, lifting an eyebrow.

“Yeah, sort of,” she said, biting her bottom lip.

“D’you want me to go?” he offered, standing slightly.

“No,” she said, surprising herself. Maybe Jack would be good company on this terrible day. God knows she’d just been sitting there, stewing in her misery. She could do with a distraction. 

“Fight with the boyfriend?” Jack asked with a light, teasing grin. 

“Not boyfriend exactly,” Rose said, beginning to tell him the story of the mad man who’d set off an explosion in her job. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“Oh honey… It’s been less than a week and you’ve got it this bad already? You’re really in for it,” he said sympathetically. Rose groaned, her head lolling back against her chair. 

“I know, and now I don’t even know where we stand. It was like this silent agreement that we’d spend this trip together, and then this morning he was just a different person. I don’t know what I did, I don’t know what happened.” 

Jack was pretty sure he had a good idea of what had happened. If this guy was feeling anything close to what Rose was, Jack was sure he’d gotten spooked and he was just as miserable as she was toady.

“It’ll be okay, Rosie,” he said, moving to sit on her chair with her. He wrapped her up in a hug. Rose sighed miserably, settling against his embrace. 

“Should I go to his room tonight?” she asked.

“I don’t think you’ll have to,” he told her, releasing her from the hug. 

“C’mon, let’s go grab something to eat,” he said, standing up and stretching. Rose stood with him, slipping her clothes back on over her bikini. They trekked toward the main strip where all the restaurants were, chatting about nothing.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

The Doctor was sitting in front of Rose’s door, waiting for her to get back. He was a little worried that he was being a bit creepy, but he couldn’t sit around all night wondering if Rose would come to see him. So he waited. And waited. Then he waited some more. Rose was having a long day, it seemed. Finally he saw her heading down the hall toward him. He jumped up to his feet, apologies already on his tongue. 

Rose stopped short when she saw him, a hesitant look crossing her face. He hated himself for putting that hesitancy in her. He wanted her to trust him implicitly, and today he’d snapped at her without warning. 

“Doctor?” she said, stepping closer to him. He couldn’t help himself, he rushed over and scooped her up in a hug. 

“I’m sorry. Rose, I’m so sorry,” he whispered, breathing her in.  
After a moment, she returned his embrace. 

“Let’s go inside, yeah?” she said, pulling away from him. He nodded enthusiastically, happy that she didn’t toss him out on his arse. Rose unlocked her room and they stepped in, standing a few awkward feet apart from each other. 

“About this morning,” he started, tugging on his ear. Rose lifted her eyebrows when he trailed off, offering no explanation. 

“I just… I got overwhelmed. The way I feel about you, Rose… It scares me. I haven’t known you for a week. You terrify me. I’ve lost a lot of people, just about everyone I care about. I’ve gone through enough loss to know that the universe doesn’t let me keep people like you in my life. But I was thinking… We’ve got the rest of this week, right? Maybe we could just have this week, maybe I’d be allowed that. Then we’ll go our separate ways when we get back to London. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t take this week with you,” he said in a rush, all jumbled thoughts and ear-tugging. 

Rose listened quietly. She understood what he was saying. The universe was cruel. There was no way they’d be together forever. But he was right, they had this week. 

“Rose? Could you say something?” he begged, eyes pleading with her to just say yes, just let them have this. She took a deep breath, stepping closer to him. She peered up into his eyes, searching for something. When she found it, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her, pressing her lips to his in a soft, sweet kiss. He froze against her for a second, his whole body shocked at the feeling of her lips pressed against his. Once he realized what was happening, he responded enthusiastically, kissing her harder. His hands went down to her hips to pull them flush against his. Rose smiled against his lips.  
His tongue ran along her bottom lip, begging for entrance. She granted it gladly and he deepened their kiss. Rose hadn’t been kissed like this in a very long time. He kissed her like she was the only thing in the universe that mattered, like he never wanted to let her go. She returned it with just as much feeling, pouring every ounce of emotion that she felt for him into the kiss. 

They pulled apart, gasping for air. The Doctor rested his forehead against hers, their panting breaths mingling. 

“Pack your things,” he whispered, never breaking eye contact.  
Rose nodded, causing her forehead to bop against his a couple times. They giggled like schoolchildren, still not pulling away from one another. After a few more moments, she pulled back and they packed all her things, lugging them back to his room.  
Once everything was transferred, they settled down in bed, putting on a movie that they were positive neither of them would watch.

“I don’t want to waste one more second with you, Rose Tyler,” the Doctor whispered, pressing his lips against hers. Rose buried her fingers in his hair, giving it a swift tug. He groaned, kissing her harder. _I love you,_ he thought. He couldn’t say it out loud, so he decided to tell her the only other way he could. He’d show her with his every action until they were separated. He had the distinct feeling that she was planning to do the same.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note the rating change!! Let me know what you think!

“Rose, how much longer are you going to be in there? It’d beach time!” 

“Alright, alright, don’t get your trunks in a twist,” Rose said, finally stepping out of the bathroom. The Doctor beamed as she walked out, bending down to press a soft kiss to her lips. Rose smiled against his kiss, keeping it short and sweet.

“C’mon,” she took his hand, “let’s hit the beach!” 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“Gotta get some sunblock on that pasty skin of yours,” Rose said teasingly, her tongue cheekily poking out of the corner of her mouth.

The Doctor squawked indignantly. His expression smoothed as she slid her hands under his shirt and smoothed them over his stomach and chest, dragging his t-shirt up with her as she went. She felt him shudder under her caress. She finished lifting it off his shoulders and over his head, ruffling his hair up even more than it was before. She licked her lips, eyes on his tattoo. It was gorgeously done. She was thinking of banning him from shirts for the rest of the trip. Her fingers ghosted along the tattoo. He swallowed hard, standing absolutely still while she explored. 

Rose wanted to memorize every inch of him. She squirted some sunblock into her palm and rubbed her hands together. She began with his shoulders, moving down to his chest, then turning him around to get every inch of his exposed back, slathering the sunblock generously and rubbing it in, taking care to rub the kinks out of his muscles as she went. 

“I think you can get your arms yourself, yeah?” she asked, grinning at the look of bliss on his face. His eyelids fluttered open (though he never remembered closing them).

“Hmm?” he murmured sleepily, blinking at her.

“I said, you can get the rest yourself, can’t you?” she reiterated, biting her lip to keep from laughing at his dazed face. He shook his head, stretching.

“Get the rest myself…. _Oh_ , sunblock! You were putting sunblock on me! Yes, suppose I can sort out the rest,” he said, a goofy grin on his face. Rose bit her bottom lip, handing him the bottle. He stared at the bottle, confusing furrowing his brow for a moment before realization lit his face again.

“Right, sunblock,” he muttered, squirting some in his hand and rubbing it quickly into his arms. 

“Can you get me now?” she asked through a laugh.

“Yes! Of course, yes!” he exclaimed. Before he could start, there was a shout from behind him.

“Rosie!” The Doctor’s head snapped around, brow furrowed. A tall, muscular man was grinning from ear to ear and jogging toward them. 

“Rosie?” the Doctor asked, arching an eyebrow. The man laughed, completely passing the Doctor to get to Rose.

“Jack!” Rose cried happily, opening her arms to him. Jack swooped her up in a hug.

“Jack?” the Doctor questioned again, sounding more irritated by the second. 

“I didn’t expect to see you again,” Rose said when Jack released her.

“Oh, can’t get rid of me that easy, Rose,” he said. His eyes slid over to the Doctor, sizing him up. The Doctor stood straighter, tilting his chin up challengingly. 

“This him? The non-boyfriend?” the American asked with a mischievous grin.

“Non-boyfriend?” the Doctor demanded, the muscles in his jaw twitching.

“Oh, sorry! Doctor, this is Jack! I met him yesterday when we were… Well, I met him yesterday,” she said, cheeks flooding with color.

“Jack, this is the Doctor,” she finished.

“Yes, I am,” the Doctor said, stepping around Jack to wrap an arm around Rose’s waist and pull her flush against his side. 

“The Doctor, and apparently the non-boyfriend, as well,” he muttered, still glaring at Jack.

“You didn’t mention he had a jealous streak,” Jack said, still grinning away. 

“I don’t,” the Doctor huffed, pulling Rose even closer.

“I didn’t know,” Rose said wryly, wrapping an arm around the Doctor’s back to appease him.

“You were right about one thing… He isn’t half gorgeous,” Jack said, leering at the Doctor. The Doctor sniffed, his chest puffing out a bit. Rose laughed, caressing the Doctor’s side where her hand rested. He squirmed a bit at the light contact. Rose filed that away for future reference. 

“Well, that’s enough of that then,” the Doctor muttered awkwardly. 

“We’re just about to hit the water, d’you want to join us?” Rose offered, giving Jack a bright smile. Jack grinned back, nodding.

“Love to,” he exclaimed, already in the process of taking off his shirt. When his bare (significantly more muscled) chest came in to view, the Doctor glowered, his arm tightening around Rose.

“Oh, relax,” she muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes. The Doctor huffed, his arm loosening. Rose gave him a reassuring grin before stepping away to strip down to her bathing suit. 

“I’ve still got to put sunblock on,” she muttered, shimmying out of her shorts.

“Need me to get your back?” Jack offered, arching an eyebrow. The Doctor practically growled, gripping the bottle of sunblock (that was still in his free hand) tighter.

“No, the Doctor’s got it,” she said.

“Yeah, I’ve got it,” he said lowly, rubbing some of the sunblock on her shoulders and down her back. Normally he would have taken his time, but he didn’t want to give a show with the present company, so he finished quickly, capping the bottle and putting it back in their bag. 

“Could’ve been a little gentler about it…” Rose muttered, shooting him a look. The glare on his face smoothed out to something apologetic. When he opened his mouth to say sorry Rose shook her head, taking his hand and turning toward Jack. He tilted his head toward the water and they took off running, Rose dragging the stunned Doctor behind her.   
They hit the water and kept running until it was chest high. Jack turned suddenly, a playful glint in his eye. 

“Rosie,” he sing-songed, wading toward her. Her eyes widened as she backed away from him, realizing he was up to mischief. The Doctor’s eyebrows pulled together in confusion. Suddenly the American was on Rose and had her hoisted up on his shoulder. Rose squealed through a laugh, demanding to be put down.

“Oi!” the Doctor exclaimed. Jack ignored him, focusing on Rose.

“Sorry Rose, you want me to put you down?” he asked kindly. 

“Oh no…” Rose groaned, holding her breath. Before the Doctor knew what was happening, Rose was flying through the air, toward the water. She hit with a splash and came up sputtering a moment later.

“Jack Harkness, I’ll kill you!” she said once she caught her breath. Jack cackled, swimming away. Rose followed after him, the two of them laughing like maniacs. 

“What are you even gonna do when you catch me?” he called.

“I’ll figure it out when we get there!” she promised, swimming faster. Soon their game of chase ended, the two of them coming to a halt next to the Doctor to catch their breaths. 

The Doctor’s arms were crossed over his chest, a petulant expression on his face. When Rose noticed, her face softened. She wrapped her arms around his neck, looking up at him and biting her lip. She leaned up on her tiptoes, angling her face up to him, giving him the chance to meet her in the middle. After a moment more of pouting, he did, bending down to catch her lips with his. Rose smiled against his soft kiss. That wouldn’t do.  
She ran her tongue along his bottom lip, seeking entrance. It was granted immediately and her tongue plunged into his mouth, claiming him as hers (and letting him know that she was his too). She let her fingers play with the wet strands of hair at the base of his neck, tugging them gently. At that, he moaned, deepening their kiss further. When a throat cleared behind them, they slowly parted, assuming it was Jack. Once they finally stopped kissing, they turned around to see a scandalized-looking mother and her twin sons, both of whom were grinning at the Doctor and Rose. 

They blushed furiously, stuttering apologies to the mother. Jack had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

After a while of playing in the surf, they retreaded back to their spots on the sand and relaxed. Rose was determined to get a bit of color into the Doctor’s pale skin tone. 

“So Rose, you come here often?” Jack asked after they had all settled into their places, Rose in the middle of the boys. 

“Really?” the Doctor muttered, rolling his (closed) eyes. 

“Not really, no. My first time here actually,” she said, grinning at the Doctor’s reaction to what she was sure he assumed to be a pick-up line. 

“I love it here, come every summer!” Jack said.

“Yeah, it’s my first time here too, thanks for asking,” the Doctor said. 

“Oh, sorry! Where are you from again, Doctor?” he asked, turning his head toward the Doctor and Rose.

“London, same as Rose,” he said, turning his head and opening his eyes.

“Right, Rosie told me that,” Jack said, nodding.

“That was nice of Rosie,” the Doctor bit out, giving Jack a forced smile. 

“Oh god, don’t you start on that too,” Rose groaned, turning toward the Doctor.

“Sorry, didn’t realize you two were so exclusive,” he said, turning to look away from Rose. Her brow furrowed.

“Doctor?” she asked, concerned. 

“Y’know what? I’m thirsty actually,” he said, standing up.

“Wait, I’ll come with you,” she said, standing quickly.

“You don’t have to-”

“Shut up,” she growled, taking his hand and pulling him away. When they were out of earshot she dropped his hand and turned to face him, glaring.

“What the hell is your problem?” she demanded, setting her jaw.

“Nothing, just thought I’d give you and captain innuendo a moment alone, that’s all,” he said, matching her expression. 

“Are you really that jealous of Jack?” she asked incredulously.

“I am _not_ jealous of that sexed up, innuendo-filled man-child!” 

“Coulda fooled me,” she said, rolling her eyes. 

“Look, why don’t you get back to Jack? I’m going to my room,” he growled, attempting to step around her.

“I don’t want to get back to Jack, I want to fix whatever stupid thoughts are running through your daft head. And that’s our room, thank you.”

“I see the way he looks at you! He’s throwing pick-up lines at you every other minute!”

“Did you maybe notice that he looks at everyone that way? That he tries to pick everyone up? He doesn’t mean anything by it, that’s just Jack’s nature,” she insisted, stepping closer. 

“Even if he were trying to pick me up- which he isn’t- you wouldn’t have anything to worry about. I don’t want anyone but you. I’m yours,” she finished, biting her bottom lip. The Doctor’s heart soared without his consent, butterflies fluttering in his stomach. Suddenly, she seemed to catch herself. 

“I’m yours for the rest of this trip,” she amended, blushing. With that, his heart plummeted down to his stomach, crushing the butterflies in its wake.

“We don’t have much longer together, Doctor. Do you really want to spend our time fighting?” 

He licked his lips, stepping closer until they were chest to chest.

“No,” he whispered, lowering his head. 

“Rose, let’s go back to our room,” he said, begging her with his eyes. Rose nodded, eyes locked on him. 

“Wait- what about Jack?” she suddenly remembered.

“Please, don’t delay on my part,” an American accent said behind her. They turned to see Jack standing behind them, his eyes suspiciously wet-looking. He handed them their bag with all their things in it. The Doctor and Rose grinned at each other, taking off toward the Salt House.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“Get that damned door open,” Rose growled, her arms wrapped around the Doctor’s chest from her spot behind him. She licked and nipped along his back, sending tingles down his spine.

“I’m trying,” he groaned, missing the lock once again. Her hands slid down his chest, fingertips teasing along the waistband of his trunks. She heard a faint whimper escape his throat and grinned. Finally, the door opened and they entered the room, quickly slamming the door and making their way to the bed. 

“Not too much sexy stripping down to be done this time, is there?” the Doctor asked with a cheeky smile, untying the string that kept his shorts on his narrow hips. Rose stepped up, slipping her fingers under the band and tugging them down slowly. She kissed along his collarbones, causing the Doctor’s head to fall back in pleasure. 

The shorts fell from his hips, landing on the floor with a soft swish that neither of them noticed. Rose stepped back from him slowly, biting her bottom lip. His hooded eyes followed her, his mouth hanging slightly agape.

She raised her arms, grabbing the ties at the base of her neck and undoing them. Then she lifted the bikini top over her head, throwing it somewhere behind her. She cupped her own breasts, teasing her pebbled nipples for a second before running her hands down her stomach until she reached her bottoms, pushing them down. 

The Doctor was practically drooling, his eyes darting around her form, not wanting to miss a single inch.

“Sexy enough for you?” Rose teased, grinning with her tongue between her teeth. 

“Wha- ahem, yes! Quite,” he said, blushing. His erection was at full attention, already aching. 

Rose walked over to him and placed her hands gently on his shoulders. She gave him a soft smile, which he returned. She shoved his shoulders hard, pushing him down on the bed. 

He let out an “oof!” of surprise, bouncing as he hit the mattress. Rose chuckled, crawling on top of him. He smiled up at her, the two of them moving up until their heads were at the pillows. She leaned down, kissing along his jaw. She stopped to suck on the spot just behind his ear. 

“Rose,” he moaned, hips bucking up. She settled herself on his stomach, just above his throbbing erection. He groaned loudly when he felt her heat against his stomach. 

The Doctor’s hands sprung into action, one burying itself in her hair and dragging her lips to his for a tough kiss. The other slipped between her folds to tease her clit with light strokes.

“Unf, fuck,” Rose moaned into his kiss, swiveling her hips to get more friction. He pulled back, keeping his fingers light and teasing. 

“Doctor, please,” she whimpered. He was powerless after that, giving in and stroking her clit in firm circles. Rose keened, grinding her hips down against his hand. The Doctor nearly came from that alone. He had a feeling this wouldn’t last very long for either of them.

“S’been a while,” Rose panted against his neck, giving it a bite while she was there.

“Fuck, yeah, for me too,” he grunted, hips thrusting up. His cock slid along her arse, causing a shiver to go through both of them. 

“Rose, bedside table,” he said, doing his very best to keep his wits about him. She nodded, stretching to open the drawer. She plucked a condom out of the full box (that the Doctor had apparently placed there) and ripped it open with her teeth. She rolled it down his length quickly, the Doctor’s breath catching in his throat as she did. Once it was in place, Rose positioned his cock at her entrance, hovering over him for a moment.

“Now, Rose. Please, now,” he begged hoarsely. She lowered herself on his length, sheathing him completely inside her burning heat. The Doctor swore, using every ounce of power in himself to keep from moving. After a moment, Rose lifted her hips. He breathed out a whimper, hips chasing hers instinctively. She rode him achingly slowly, twisting her hips on every downstroke. 

“Faster, Rose,” he whispered, thrusting his hips along with her. She sped up her pace, going faster and harder, obscenities slipping from both of their mouths. 

The Doctor placed his hands on her back and turned them over swiftly, burying himself even deeper inside of her.

“Oh my god!” Rose exclaimed, eyes snapping wide open. His grin was feral as he found the spot inside her that made her shudder and tighten around him. He set up a fast pace, faster and harder than Rose’s before. Soon they were both teetering on the edge of release, crying out loudly.

“Rose please… tell me you’re mine. Please love, say it,” he begged, hips never stuttering in their mind-shattering rhythm. 

“I am,” she whimpered, “I’m yours.” 

The Doctor’s eyes snapped shut, stars bursting behind his eyelids. They came together, crying out each other’s names.

When they both floated back down, the Doctor was collapsed on top of Rose, her hands caressing his back lovingly. He rolled off of her and took care of the condom, rolling back when he was done. He cuddled up to Rose, spooning her from behind. 

“Whoa,” Rose said, breathing out a laugh. He laughed against her neck.

“That was…”

“Mhmm…” 

“We should definitely do that some more before we leave,” the Doctor said.

“Yes. Absolutely,” Rose agreed. She turned over and pillowed her head on his chest. 

He placed a soft kiss to the crown of her head. Peaceful sleep soon claimed the two of them.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo this chapter... it just smut. I'm sorry. It's literally just smut. 2,579 words of smut.

“Good morning to you, too,” Rose said with a chuckle, arching her hips back against the Doctor. 

He let out a groggy “mmpfh?” as he came to consciousness, hips bucking against Rose’s bum before he was even really awake. 

Rose laughed, flipping over to look at him. He was adorably rumpled, hair a mess, droopy eyelids, looking like he’d had the best shag of his life, followed by the best night’s sleep of his life. Rose was pretty sure that was accurate.  
When the Doctor met Rose’s eyes, a sleepy, goofy grin spread across his face. 

“Mmm, good morning,” he said, voice thick with sleep. Rose was reminded of what exactly she woke to when she felt his hot length prod her stomach.

“Excited to see me already?” she teased. His brow furrowed and his head tilted in confusion. Rose bit her lip and glanced down. His gaze followed hers, cheeks flushing with embarrassment once he understood what was going on. 

“Ah, right, yes… That… Well,” he stuttered, never meeting her eyes. 

“Doctor, s’alright, just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean m’not excited to wake up naked with you too,” she said. She reached up and brushed his fringe back gently, letting her palm linger on one of his burning cheeks. His lips twitched as he finally met her eyes.

“Yeah?” he whispered hopefully, eyes bright. 

“Yes, you daft man,” she said, threading her fingers through his hair and pressing a kiss to his chin. 

“There is nowhere I’d rather wake up than right here,” she said it so quietly that if he hadn’t felt her breath puff against his chin as she spoke, he’d have thought he imagined it. He shivered, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer to him. _I love you,_ he thought desperately, wishing for all the world he could tell her. 

Suddenly she pulled away, startling him. Before he knew it, she had hopped out of bed and was making her way to the bathroom.

“Err- Rose? You alright, love?” he asked hesitantly, sitting up and swinging his legs off the bed. Her head popped out of the door and he saw that her toothbrush was already jammed in her mouth, creating a frothy foam that he swore he could smell from the bed. 

He couldn’t help but laugh. She was a sight to behold with her bedhead and frothy mouth, completely starkers. 

“Oi!” she exclaimed, slipping back into the bathroom. He hopped off the bed and followed her, stopping to grab his shorts and slip them on. He walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. She smiled around her toothbrush, leaning back against him. She frowned as she was met with the fabric of his boxers instead of the naked flesh she was expecting. 

“What’d you do that for?” Rose complained. He jerked back, affronted.

“I thought you liked my hugs,” he said with a pout. Rose rolled her eyes, unable to keep from snorting a laugh at him.

“I meant the shorts,” she said before spitting the toothpaste out and rinsing her mouth. She rinsed her pink toothbrush and placed it on the counter next to his blue one. He smiled softly at the sight.

“Not all of us have such cute bums,” he said as way of explanation, swatting her arse playfully to make his point. Rose scoffed as she moved away from the sink to give him room to brush his own teeth.

“You have a _great_ arse,” Rose said. She was standing behind him, getting a nice eyeful of said arse in his tiny boxer shorts. She reached out to cup his bum, giving him a squeeze. He skittered forward in surprise, letting out a (very masculine) squeak. 

“Rose!” he squeaked, cheeks heating up, eyes alight with laughter. 

“Sorry,” she chuckled. 

“I’m gonna go get my clothes to change,” she said, walking out of the bathroom.

“Oh, you are bloody kidding me,” the Doctor heard her groan.

“S’wrong?” he called back, words garbled around the toothbrush. 

“It’s raining _again_ ,” she said. He heard a flop and smiled, knowing she had plopped down on the bed- still stark naked. He finished brushing his teeth and rinsed his mouth and toothbrush, making his way back out to the bedroom. 

Rose was spread mournfully across the bed, looking put out. He laughed, getting on the bed and crawling up her body, stopping when his face was even with hers.

“Aw, it can’t be that bad to have to spend a day inside with me,” he said softly, trailing kisses up her neck. Rose huffed, determined to be disappointed on missing another beach day, though she did stretch her neck to give him better access. She felt his lips curl in a grin against the skin of her neck and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to slap him or snog him. She decided it would be best to let him continue his pursuit up her neck.  
He laved his tongue up her neck, groaning in pleasure as he went. She whimpered, lifting her hands to thread her fingers in his hair, urging him up toward the spot behind her ear that she knew would turn her to liquid once he got that magic fucking tongue on it. 

His hot breath puffed against her when he paused right where she wanted him. He figured this was one hell of a spot by the way her fingers were urgently tugging his hair. He was so close that when he licked his lips, his tongue ghosted over her skin, just enough to tease her. 

“Doctor,” she moaned, pulling his hair a little harder. 

“Oh fuck,” he groaned, finally giving her what she wanted. He latched on to the spot, sucking and licking desperately. His hips ground down against her when he finally rested all his weight on top of her. 

The Doctor pulled back with a wet ‘pop’, admiring the red spot that was left in his wake. 

“Get those bloody fucking shorts off,” Rose commanded. He nodded.

“Give me a hand?” 

Rose’s hands shot down to his waistband, getting the shorts down his hips and using her feet to get them the rest of the way off. Somehow they made their way to the floor, not to be thought of for quite some time. 

The room was filled with the sounds of their panting breaths and the rumbling thunder from the storm outside. If either of them could were aware of anything other than their partner, they would have realized that the storm was picking up to a nearly ferocious degree, rain pounding the glass doors, lightning striking through the dark grey skies, thunder roaring. Neither of them noticed, however, the two of them completely wrapped up in each other.

“Rose,” he breathed, kissing her lips for the first time this morning. They were warm and pliant beneath his, her minty breath ghosting against his lips when her mouth opened to him. Her tongue peeked out to taste his delicious bottom lip, sucking it between her lips when a little taste wasn’t enough. She may be biased, but she was pretty sure nothing in the world tasted better than the Doctor. 

She released his lip to move down to his perfect, smooth neck. It was completely unblemished and Rose couldn’t help but want to remedy that. First, she licked a firm line up the column of his throat, pulling a shudder from him. She spent a little extra time on his Adams apple, unable to help herself. Finally she made it back to her favorite spot and bit down, marking his perfect skin. _Marking him as hers,_ growled the deep, primal part of her. 

Her teeth released his skin and she gave it a small kiss to soothe the indentations that would fade far too soon. She hadn’t bitten him hard enough to leave a lasting mark, just a fleeting one that would be gone in the blink of an eye. She shook her head, forcing those thoughts from her head. They had one day left after today and it wouldn’t do for today to be filled with sad thoughts of things to come.

His head tilted down, drawn from the pleasure by the change in her mood.

“Rose? Everything okay, love?” he asked quietly, concern flooding his eyes. Her heart swelled. 

“Yeah, everything’s perfect.” _For now,_ neither of them added.

“Good,” he whispered, leaning down to capture her lips in a soft kiss. Rose bit her lip, hooking her legs over his hips and twisting, changing their position so that she was on top. She attacked his chest with kisses, moving down his body. 

When she made it down to his hot, hard length, she wrapped her right hand around it, stroking him slowly. She rubbed her thumb across the head, gathering the liquid that was weeping from it. She spread it across his tip, leaning down to lick it softly.

“Oh, fucking hell, Rose,” he groaned, hands fisting in the sheets by his hips.

She smiled, taking the head in her mouth and sucking lightly, jerking his length with a loose fist. 

“Rose, please, more,” he begged, hips bucking. Her left hand came up to steady his hips, thumb rubbing his hip bone. She took more of him into her mouth, taking him down as far as she could, humming around his length. He swore loudly, stomach muscles tensing. She eased back, not wanting this to be over before it even started. He breathed a sigh of relief, glad that it looked like he might not go off like a seventeen-year-old virgin in her mouth. 

Rose bobbed her head, tongue teasing the underside of his cock as she went. 

“Fuck, Rose… You might wanna…” he warned, already back to feeling like he was about to come. She let go of his cock and sat up, licking her lips. He moaned, flipping them over so that he was back on top. 

He cupped her breasts in his large hands, rubbing her nipples with his thumbs. They hardened even further, pebbling beneath his ministrations. He lowered his head, taking one nipple in his mouth, still teasing the other with his fingers. He bit down gently, just a hint of pearly white teeth. Rose gasped, chest arching up toward him. She cupped the back of his head, scratching her nails along his scalp. He shivered violently, switching breasts. He took his time, affording this breast all the attention that the other had gotten. 

He pulled back, blowing gently on her wet nipple. She whimpered, nipple tightening even more, impossibly hard now. 

The Doctor scooted down, running his fingers gently down her flat belly, causing the muscles to jump beneath his fingertips. He grinned, kissing the skin on his way down. 

He urged her legs apart to give him a place to settle down. He kissed up her inner thigh, bringing his fingers up to spread her folds for him. Her scent filled his nose as he inhaled, exhaling a loud moan. 

“Rose,” he moaned, tongue flicking out to lick her clit once, hard and fast. She swore, fingers burying in his hair and pulling his face closer to her. His free hand came up to tease her entrance with one finger, circling it, dipping the tip just in before taking it out and circling it again. His thumb came up to tease her clit lightly. 

“Fuck, would you actually _touch me_ please,” she groaned out, frustrated. He breathed out a laugh dipping his middle finger inside her completely at the same time that he flicked her clit with his tongue. He pumped his finger, adding the index finger after a moment and scissoring the two of them. He rubbed her walls, searching for the spot that would drive her insane. 

“Oh god yes, right there!” she cried out, “just like that!” 

He grinned against her clit, rubbing firmly. Rose’s legs wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him closer than he thought possible. He could feel her thighs trembling with the effort to hold back her climax, prolong the pleasure she was receiving from him. His hips thrust against the sheets, seeking friction on his achingly hard cock. 

“C’mon, come for me love,” he begged, redoubling his efforts. She screamed his name as her walls clenched hard around his fingers. He guided her down, helping her ride out her orgasm. 

His fingers slipped out of her and he rested his head against her thigh, the two of them catching their breaths. Absentmindedly, he lifted his hand to suck his fingers in his mouth, tasting her again. Rose’s mouth fell open as she watched him, the breath escaping her.

“God,” she breathed. He smiled, kissing her thigh before moving so that their faces were even again. 

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered, peppering kisses over her face. 

“So are you,” she said, reaching up to ghost her fingers over his freckled cheeks. He huffed indignantly, hiding a delighted grin. Rose shook her head, knowing he was putting on. 

“Bedside table,” Rose said. He swallowed hard, reaching over to grab a condom from the drawer. Rose took it from him and ripped it open, rolling it down his length. 

“You ready?” he asked, lining up with her entrance. She nodded, biting her bottom lip. He slid inside her slowly, her hot, tight walls enough to make his breath catch. 

Her hips shifted letting him know she was ready for him to move. 

He pulled back slowly, letting her feel every inch of him slide out of her, catching her whimper with his lips when he leaned down to kiss her. He thrust back inside of her at the same achingly slow pace, driving both of them out of their minds. He kept up this pace for as long as he could, but after a small while he had to move faster. 

His tongue delved into her mouth, mocking the motion of his hips thrusting against hers. She clenched her walls around his length, deciding that he had too much control. He swore, pace stuttering at the squeeze of her muscles against him. 

“God yes,” he moaned, moving faster and harder. He reached down to adjust her legs, spreading her open further for him. Rose cried out his name as he found that spot again and hit it with every thrust. 

“Touch yourself,” he demanded between gritted teeth, determined to keep up this mind-blowing pace until she came for him again. Rose slide one shaky hand down to her clit and rubbed it in rough circles, pushing herself even higher. He could feel her walls fluttering around him.

“Yes. Rose, yes. Come for me,” he growled. She exploded around him, walls clenching hard around him. When he felt her come, he couldn’t hold back any longer, climax overtaking his entire body.

He collapsed on top of her, sweaty skin sticking together. 

“I’m going to move,” he slurred, making a feeble attempt to get off her.

“S’okay. Stay where you are, love. You’re not too much,” she promised, stroking his back and pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

After a minute he did move, pulling out of her and taking care of the condom. 

“We should shower and go get some breakfast,” Rose said, eyelids drooping.

“ _Or_ we could order in… After while…” he suggested. 

“That’s a brilliant idea… You’re brilliant,” Rose whispered, snuggling against his chest. 

“Mmm, you too,” he said, drifting off.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting so close to the end!! This will be the first proper chapter story that I ever finish, I can't believe it! It's been such a fun ride, you guys. Thank you so much for everything!

The Doctor swallowed hard, looking down at the table where he was sitting. It was his last day in St. Ives. Rose’s too. Their last day together. After this they would go back to London and part ways. He’d never been so reluctant to end a vacation in his life.

“Doctor?” Rose’s soft voice invaded his thoughts, causing his head to snap up. 

“Yes, love?” he asked, the endearment slipping off his tongue without a second thought.

“Don’t pull back now. It won’t make it easier, you know that,” she said. Her hand reached across the table to lace their fingers together. He nodded.  
They were in his suite. They’d spent all of yesterday wrapped up in each other, never even mentioning that today was their last day. 

“You’re right,” he said firmly, squeezing her fingers. They would be fine. Absolutely fine. After a while, he’d only be a memory in Rose Tyler’s life. His heart clenched at that thought. Best to push that one back, then. 

“What do you want to do today?” he asked after a moment of silence between them. 

“Could we just… stay in? Watch some films?” she requested, playing with his fingers, not making eye contact.

“’Course we can,” he said, standing up and tugging on her hand. Neither of them had changed out of what they’d been sleeping in yet (Rose in one of his t-shirts and the Doctor in his pants). 

“Takes some effort out of preparing for the day, doesn’t it?” he asked with a grin, climbing into bed and under the duvet. Rose chuckled at the vision he made, his hair sticking up in every direction, eyes still sleepy, duvet tucked up to his chin.

“Mhm,” she murmured as she got in next to him. 

“Budge up,” she complained, bumping his boney hip with her own. 

“No,” he said, rolling on top of her instead. He braced his elbows on either side of her head, hips pressed firmly against hers. 

“This doesn’t look like a film to me,” she whispered, licking her lips. 

“Well… We could certainly _make_ it a film, though I don’t know if your mother would approve,” he said cheekily, smirking at her. 

“Aren’t you spent yet, old man?” Rose laughed, arching her hips against his. Calling him an old man may be a bit of a stretch, he was only six years her senior, but Rose had a fondness for teasing him about it nevertheless. 

“Spent on you? Never,” he promised, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her lips. 

Rose blinked hard, dispelling the moisture that had suddenly collected in her eyes. She kissed him back, eyes fluttering closed. 

He brought up one hand to cup the side of her face gently, his thumb coaxing her jaw open for him. His tongue slipped over her bottom lip before his teeth nipped it softly, making her gasp. Her tongue came out to meet his, dancing with it. There was no battle, no urgency.

She could feel him hardening against her, her own body responding quickly to his. Her hips arched sharply into his, causing him to hiss into their sweet kiss.

“Slow down,” he whispered when their lips broke apart. 

“We’ve got all day, and I want to commit everything to memory,” he continued. She nodded as she bit her bottom lip, not trusting her voice. 

There were so many things he wanted to say to her. So many things he wished he could promise her (‘forever’ being first and foremost). But forever doesn’t exist, not for him. So they would use every second of the time they had left. 

“Every little sound,” he whispered, nibbling on her earlobe, making her whimper.

“Every movement.” His hand slipped under her shirt and cupped her breast, tweaking her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Rose’s hands shot up, burying in his hair and tugging it deliciously. 

“Absolutely every inch of you, Rose Tyler,” he said, hot breath puffing against her neck. 

He drew back, sitting on his haunches, and encouraged Rose to sit up so he could get her (his) shirt off of her. The offending garment was soon forgotten on the floor.

“I never want to forget any of it,” the Doctor finished, sitting back and taking her form in. The level of scrutiny would have made Rose uncomfortable normally, but she felt completely at ease. Confident. Appreciated. Beautiful. _Loved._

“Rose,” he breathed, ghosting his fingers down her sides. She shivered against his light, worshiping touch. 

“Doctor, please,” Rose begged. She shifted impatiently underneath him. 

He grinned, lifting an eyebrow.

“Please what, love?” he teased as he circled one of her nipples lightly with a fingertip. 

“Touch me,” she said, chest heaving, face flushed.

“I _am_ touching you,” he said in faux-confusion, continuing his torturous touches. 

“Properly. Touch me properly,” she said through clenched teeth. 

“I dunno what you mean,” he said, shaking his head and furrowing his eyebrows. 

Rose was about to scream her frustrations when he suddenly dipped his head, taking her excruciatingly hard nipple into his hot mouth and dragging the flat of his tongue across it firmly.

“Oh my god,” she gasped, pulling his head tight against her. He supported his weight with one arm, raising his free hand to cup her neglected breast. She felt his lips curl in a smile against her skin, a smile breaking out across her face to match his. 

“You can just call me ‘Doctor’ if you like,” he said cheekily as he switched from one breast to the other. She scratched her nails along his scalp for his cheek, drawing a tremor out of him. 

The Doctor’s hand trailed its way down her body to the waistline of her knickers, teasing his fingertips along the line. Rose growled under her breath, promising herself that if he was going to start teasing her mercilessly that she would just kill him. 

He must have had some idea of Rose’s plots because soon his hand slid under her knickers, spreading her lips with two fingers and rubbing her clit with his middle one. His fingers were absolute magic, Rose had decided. They were long, and deft, and very, very good at their current job. He rubbed her clit in firm circles, Rose’s eyes slamming shut as her head snapped back, exposing her neck fully to him. He took this as an invitation, abandoning her breast for his favorite spot on her neck, sucking it. His intent was to leave a mark, something for her to remember him by after they parted tomorrow.

“I’m gonna have to cover that up, you wanker,” Rose groaned, not trying to stop him in the least. 

He released her neck with a ‘pop’ and grinned at it, admiring his work. It would last for a bit. Not long enough (never long enough), but for a little bit. 

“Would you get us naked already,” Rose muttered, the feeling of his hard length pressed against her thigh through his cotton pants driving her mad. She wanted to be able to feel all of him against her. His hot skin sliding against hers, the friction blinding both of them with pleasure. 

“That is an excellent idea, Rose Tyler,” he said as he shimmied out of his boxers and grabbed a condom, putting it on as quickly as he could. Then he helped her out of her knickers, settling between her thighs, his cock resting against her soaked center.

He reached down to line his length up with her entrance, gaze locked on hers as he waited for her signal. She nodded breathlessly, gripping his shoulders with both hands.

He slid in slowly, eyes never leaving hers as he entered her. Finally he was completely inside her, his hips flush against hers. 

“You feel perfect.” He rested his forehead against hers, their hot breaths mingling in the small space between them. 

They set up an aching pace, exchanging hot kisses and whispered promises. The build was slow, slower than either of them could ever remember it being before- with anyone. Rose thought the intensity of it would kill her- but what a way to go this would be. She couldn’t imagine a better way. 

The head of his cock rubbed against the spot that made her vision black out with every push and pull, driving her absolutely out of her mind. Her tight walls were sure to be the death of him. He could only hope that he got her off before she killed him.

Their climaxes crashed at the same time, the two of them forgetting about anything other than each other. Hoarse voices cried out desperately, names called out to the heavens. 

The Doctor collapsed, rolling on to his side to keep from crushing Rose under his wiry frame. He pulled her tight against him, burying his face in her hair and breathing her in. 

“Fucking hell,” Rose breathed, eyes wide as she snuggled into his embrace. 

“I know,” he panted. They both gave a small chuckle, soon dissolving into giggles.

“I dunno how you do that to me, but I’m very glad you do,” he said once they calmed down. 

“I’m gonna miss you,” Rose said suddenly, hiding her face against his chest. His throat constricted at her admission. He pulled her tighter against him, as though if he could hold her close enough, tomorrow would never come.

“Quite right, too,” he murmured against her hair, kissing the top of her head. She didn’t push him for more, knowing that was the most she would get. It was different coming from him than it would have been from someone else. It spoke volumes. She couldn’t possibly ask for more from him right now. 

“Why don’t we have a bath in that giant tub of ours? We still haven’t used it yet,” he suggested, lifting an eyebrow. Rose nodded.

“Brilliant,” he said, hopping up. She laughed as his knees wobbled, not quite recovered from the intense orgasms that they had shared. 

“None of that,” he whined as he trooped to the bathroom to draw the bath for them. Rose admired the view for as long as she could before she stood up to follow him, her own knees just as shaky as his had been. 

Soon the two of them sank into the hot bath, hissing at the heat against their skin. The Doctor’s long legs bracketed Rose’s as they sat on opposite ends of the tub, her feet resting on top of his thighs. 

“Y’know, I don’t much fancy baths,” she said, resting her elbow against the side of the tub and bracing her head against her fist. He mirrored her posture.

“Really?” he asked.

“Really,” she said, offering no further explanation. He waited for a moment, a grin growing across his face as she just stared at him.

“Why’s that?” he finally asked, prodding her side with his toes gently. She squirmed away from him with a giggle.

“Just sittin’ there in your own wet filth? Yeah, that sounds really relaxin’,” she said, rolling her eyes.

He laughed, nodding.

“Suppose you’re right. Showers are much more hygienic, aren’t they?” he said.

“Mhm,” she confirmed with a nod.

“So what’ll you do when we go back to London?” she asked after a beat of silence, tone light.

“Oh, you know… Same old life… Astrophysicist,” he said with a vague hang gesture.

“What about you?” 

“Back to the coffee shop with me… Been thinking of doing something else lately, though I don’t know what,” she said, squinting.

“Might be nice to explore something new… Though Donna would miss you terribly at Vortex,” he said with a smile.

“Oh, I’d miss her a lot if I left,” Rose said with wide eyes.

“Ah, you could visit her,” he assured her, “Donna would want you to do whatever makes you happy.”

“She’s a good friend,” she said with a soft smile. Donna was nothing if not brash, but she was also easily one of the best friends Rose had ever had.

“That she is,” he said, “now, no offense to my sister, but I think I’d rather discuss other things on our last day together. Don’t you?”

“Hmm, suppose so,” Rose said teasingly. 

“Do you believe in parallel universes, Rose Tyler?”

“I dunno… I’d like to. I’d like for them to exist,” she said, not questioning his subject jump. They’d discussed this before, at the planetarium. She was sure he remembered it, but it felt like he had a specific reason for bringing it up again. Something in his eyes told her it was important. It cleared before she could ask about it, replaced quickly with a burning, playful curiosity. 

“And aliens? What about aliens?” he asked excitedly. She could swear even his hair trembled with excitement. 

“Yeah, ‘course. The universe is way too big for us to be the only ones her, don’t you think?” she answered immediately. She and her little brother, Tony, had discussed the possibility of aliens countless times, the little boy was obsessed with them.

“Oh, absolutely,” the Doctor exclaimed, seemingly ecstatic with her answer.

“There’s so much out there, Rose Tyler. Oh, how I’d love to explore it all… Just imagine all the things you’d see. The beautiful creatures you’d meet. The terrifying ones too. It’d be one huge, dangerous adventure.”

Rose couldn’t help but think of how much she’d love to explore the universe with this man. This man with all his exuberance and his thirst for knowledge. She imagined he’d be quite the force to be reckoned with should he ever get his feet off the earth. 

“I’d love to travel with you,” he whispered, not looking at her. 

“Me too,” she said.

“C’mon, how about we finally watch some of those films?” he said, hauling himself up and out of the tub before offering her his hand. She took it and he hoisted her up. They wrapped up in fluffy towels.

Soon they were back under the duvet, a movie (that neither of them could care less about) playing. They only had eyes for each other. 

When they fell asleep, they both dreamed of traveling starry skies with nothing but the clothes on their backs and a hand to hold.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh I'm so sorry that it's been so long!!! I've been crazy busy with university! Please forgive me! And let me know what you think of this chapter! We're so close to the end now!! <3

Today was the day. The day they pack up their things and get on the train home. The day they go back to reality. 

Most of their things were already packed. They were up bright and early, sorting and packing, and pretending. Pretending they were fine with going back home. Pretending they could imagine going back to normal life after this. Pretending they didn't hate the whole universe this morning. 

“Rose?” the Doctor called from the bedroom.

“Yeah?”

“Have you seen the shirt I was wearing last night? I can’t seem to find it…”

“The blue one? Nope, haven’t seen it. I’ll keep an eye out, yeah?” she said, attempting to hide her blush. The blue t-shirt that he was in search of was tucked away securely in the bottom of her bag. She hadn’t even expected him to notice it was gone.

The Doctor smirked, shaking his head with a chuckle. He knew exactly where his shirt had gotten off to. He didn’t mind in the slightest. The thought that she wanted something to remember their time together by made his chest bloom with warmth.

“Alright, thank you,” he said as he folded a pair of boxers to pack away. A soft smile spread across his face when a pair of warm arms wrapped around his chest. Rose pressed her face against his back, snuggling into him. She breathed him in, committing his scent to memory. She didn’t want to forget a single detail of this time with him. He kept working as she held him in her loose embrace.

“Best get on, yeah?” Rose whispered once he zipped his bag shut. He made a low noise in the back of his throat. (This noise was vastly different from the usual happy little hum he usually made.) He turned around, wrapping his arms securely around her. They stayed that way for as long as they possibly could.

“Right then, off we go,” he said, voice chipper. He pulled away from her and bounced over to her bag, slinging it up on his shoulder. He then snapped up his own bag and made his way out of the room, never meeting her eyes. She sighed, picking up the bags with their toiletries and following after him. She couldn’t seem to get the same bounce in her step that he had. 

They waited in silence for the taxi to arrive, the Doctor bouncing on his heels- Rose shifting her weight from foot to foot. When the cab got there, they loaded their bags and got in. 

Rose reached over and threaded their fingers together tightly without a word.

“Ready to get back to your little brother, then? I’m sure he’s missed you,” the Doctor said. If he was upset, there was nothing in his voice or his expression to let Rose know it. She was doing her best to adopt his aloof demeanor.

“Yeah, I’ve missed the little bug,” Rose said in what she was sure was a poor imitation of his chipper tone. 

“And I’m sure Donna and Wilf will be glad to have you home,” she said after a beat of silence. He gave her a bright grin, nodding. They filled the cab with small talk. Insignificant things. Not once did one of them mention the hole in their chest that seemed to be widening with every mile that passed. They didn’t comment when Rose scooted closer to him, or when the Doctor tightened his grip on her hand. Soon (far, far too soon) they arrived at the train station. They were running a bit behind schedule if the truth was told (too much time lingering in the Salt House, clinging to the solace and paradise they found in each other).

They rushed through, making it on the train just in time and grabbing two seats next to each other. The Doctor was nervously tapping his foot as they waited for the train to start moving. They had a long ride ahead of them (though he suspected it would seem much shorter than the one to St. Ives had). Every second it was a conscious fight to keep himself from begging Rose to come home with him when they made it to London. All he wanted was to tell her how he felt when he looked at her- how safe he felt when she carded her fingers through his hair, and how he had never felt emotions this intense for another creature in his life. He couldn’t tell her those things. She was better off without him. She could go live a happy life with someone who wasn’t damaged the way he was. She deserved that. If he were to ask her to come with him, he knew she’d agree in a second. He also knew that he would only hurt her. He wouldn’t mean to- he would never, ever want to hurt Rose Tyler- but he knew somehow he would. So, to keep her safe, he would let her go. The intense feelings would fade soon enough. He’d have to find a new coffee shop, he couldn’t run the risk of going in when Rose was on her shift. He’d have to explain to Donna why he wasn’t coming to visit her at work anymore. 

Now that he thought about it, it was strange that he’d not met Rose before he did. He’d been getting coffee at Vortex since before Donna started working there. Oh Donna. She wouldn’t be pleased with him at all. Not one bit. He’d heard her speak of Rose- she adored her. When Donna found out about this trip and their deciding to end it when they got home, she would be livid. 

He felt a warm weight land on his shoulder. As Rose snuggled up to him his arm came around to pull her closer to him. He pressed a soft kiss to her temple.

“Do you want to take a nap?” he whispered. He felt her shake her head against his lips. 

They didn’t nap. They both stayed very much awake, quietly soaking up every second together that they could. They didn’t speak much. There wasn’t much to say, really. Nothing but important things, that is. Important things that stayed on the back of their tongues but never made it by the filter between their teeth.

Before they knew it they had fifteen minutes left until they reached London.

“What are you gonna do?” Rose asked quietly.

“Ah, same old life… Wishing on stars that have been dead and gone for an eternity now.”

“On your own?” Her voice cracked a bit. She felt him nod silently where his cheek was resting on top of her head.

“I-” Rose began. She stopped herself, biting her tongue. The Doctor moved his head to meet her eyes.

“What?” he implored. She shook her head minutely.

“Nothing,” she said. He glanced away. She had a feeling he knew. She had a feeling that the same words were weighing heavily in the pit of his stomach too.

“What about you? What are you gonna do?” he asked. He knew the answer, of course. But in their last minutes together he wanted her to speak. He wanted to remember her voice and her scent and that smile that she does with her tongue between her teeth. He hadn’t seen that smile all day. When he thought about how much he already missed it, his throat ached.

“Back to the shop for me,” Rose said. “It’ll be good to see everyone there again. Mickey and Donna’ll be begging for stories of my glamorous vacation.”

The Doctor chuckled, nodding. His sister wouldn’t rest until she had every detail from their trip. Well, perhaps she’d prefer for Rose to keep a _few_ of them to herself once she found out who exactly Rose had been with. 

The train slowed to a stop. The Doctor’s hand tightened convulsively around Rose’s. She burrowed closer to him. They breathed each other in, committing last-minute details to memory. 

“Doctor, I think it’s time to go,” Rose whispered against his chest. He cleared his throat and sniffed as he pulled away from her.

“Right, let’s get our things then,” he said. His cheery bouncing was back full force. He grabbed their bags and handed Rose hers, hitching his own up. They walked out of the train side-by-side, unable to hold hands because of their bags. 

As they stood facing each other, Rose couldn’t think of a single thing to say. What do you say to the man who sets off a minor explosion in your job and makes you fall in love with him a few days after knowing him? Probably something along the lines of “I love you” or “please don’t leave me” or “you’re nutters, stay away from me” but none of those were viable options. So they stood there in silence, weighed down by their baggage.

The Doctor couldn’t believe that for their last interaction he wouldn’t even be able to touch her. There was no time to put all their bags down and have a proper farewell. The station was buzzing around them and he could see Rose’s mum yelling for her daughter to turn around and “shift already”. His own sister was yelling much the same.

“Rose Tyler,” he said, taking a deep breath. She looked up at him. He thought about kissing her goodbye. It would do more harm than good, especially with their families watching. 

Suddenly he was jerked away from her. People swirled around them as he was pulled continuously backward. Donna’s grip on the back of his coat was too tight to break and there was no way she could hear him over the hustle and bustle of all the people around them. He soon lost sight of Rose and was out of the train station, blinking into the sunlight. 

“Spaceman,” his sister crowed fondly, spinning him around and crushing him to her in a hug. 

“How was your trip?” she asked when she pulled away. She took one of his bags without asking and started walking toward her car.

“It was… Different than I expected,” he said cryptically, keeping in step with her easily. He couldn’t shake the image of Rose’s face from his mind. Her eyes wide and glistening, cheeks flushed. He didn’t even get to say goodbye. He knew Donna had no way of knowing, but he couldn’t help but be a bit angry with her for pulling him away a few seconds too soon. 

“How do you mean?” she asked. He took a deep breath.

“You know Rose Tyler? From Vortex?”

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

The Doctor disappeared right before Rose’s eyes. One second he was there, the next he was gone. She could see a head of fiery hair behind him, so she could only assume that Donna had gotten tired of waiting on her brother and taken matters into her own hands, not knowing the farewell that was brewing right in front of her.

That was it. He was gone. She didn’t even get to touch him. She didn’t get to say goodbye. Nothing.

“Sweetheart? You ready? Oh, are you okay? You don’t look so well,” her mum said gently, taking Rose’s large suitcase and steering her toward the exit opposite from the one the Doctor had taken. She shook herself, plastering on a smile.

“Yeah, m’alright! Just a little tired I guess. Didn’t get much rest on the train.”

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

Rose was finally home, bags unpacked, showered, a quick dinner eaten. She didn’t quite know what to do with herself now, truth be told. She felt like crawling into bed and staying there for a couple years. Instead she decided to watch some telly.  
She settled down in her bed, lifting the collar of her shirt up to her nose. It still smelled like him. She wondered how long the shirt she had stolen would hold his scent. Not long enough, she was sure. Rose flicked through the channels, willing something to catch her eye. Beauty and the Beast was just starting up. She thought back to the day that she and the Doctor watched it and danced around their small room at the Salt House. She knew she should change the channel. Watching this film would do nothing to make her feel better. It would probably do a good deal to make her feel worse. She set the remote down, settling down even further into her duvet to watch the movie, eyes already welling up with tears.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

The Doctor sat on the couch in his flat, flipping mindlessly through channels on the telly. For some reason, when he came across Beauty and the Beast, he couldn’t force his fingers to keep changing the channels.

His chest ached. All he could think about was Rose. What was she doing? Did she go home to her flat or did she decide to stay with her mum? Did she know Beauty and the Beast was on? Was she wearing his shirt? Was she already on the path to forgetting about him? How long would it take for her to move on? A week? A month? Longer? Shorter? His head pounded with questions. He had the feeling that getting over Rose Tyler would be no short process. How could anyone ever move on after loving someone like Rose? Not that there were many someones like Rose. 

He kept telling himself to go to bed, that it would be better in the morning. He’d go back to his old life, back to the university. His mind would be too occupied to worry after beautiful creatures with tattoos of the bad wolf and a smile that could take down entire empires.

No matter how many times he told himself to shut off the telly and go to sleep, he didn’t. Not until the film was over and his throat was tight and there was what felt like a ball of hot lead sitting in his chest. He trudged to his bed, feet dragging, eyes burning (from exhaustion, he told himself).

As he flicked off his lamp and settled into bed, he told himself that it would be better tomorrow.

It would. It had to be. Nothing could be worse than this. Right?


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so, so sorry that this took so long!!!! I've been busy and lazy and pretty terrible. But this is it! The final chapter! (Well, besides the epilogue that I'm currently working on, that is). I'd just like to say thank you for sticking by me through this! This chapter is dedicated to tenscupcake. Without Britt, I doubt we would have made it this far. Thank you so much for everything you've done, cupcake. You've helped me more than you'll ever know.

If there was one thing worse than trying to fall asleep without Rose, it was waking up without her. When the Doctor woke up he was not rested. His head was not clearer, as he had hoped it would be. It was throbbing. Every inch of him was throbbing, if he was honest. He didn’t know how he was meant to face the day without waking up with that nest of blonde hair tickling his nose. Without the soft kisses that she pressed against his chest and collar bone in her sleep.

He stared up at the ceiling with his hands resting on his stomach. If he closed his eyes and focused, he could almost feel the ghost of her breath against his neck. 

The Doctor got out of bed in a daze. He padded over to his bathroom and turned on the water in the shower. After letting it warm up for a minute, he stepped in. He had to go back to work today. He desperately hoped that working would occupy his mind. Anything for a reprieve from this.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

Rose flinched when she heard the door to Vortex slam.

“What were you getting up to with my brother, Tyler?”

“Donna! Hi,” she said, biting her bottom lip. 

Donna had been planning on giving Rose a thorough tongue-lashing, but when she saw the look in her eyes (the very same look she had seen in her brother’s eyes) the lecture faded. She sighed, walking around the corner and wrapping Rose up in a hug.

“You two are morons,” she grumbled. Rose sniffed and swallowed hard.

“How was he when you left him yesterday?” she asked quietly. 

“Why don’t you call him and find out?” Donna asked, lifting an eyebrow. She pulled back from the hug to look into Rose’s eyes.

“No, I can’t do that. We agreed that it would end there. When we got home, we’d go back to normal.”

“Well, neither of you seem very normal if you ask me,” Donna said. She put her apron on and stood behind the register, waiting for the next customer. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

A month of this. It hadn’t eased up one bit. He thought for sure that he would be back to his usual chipper self by now. 

Granted, he did have his moments. When he spent time with Donna or Wilf he could almost pretend that he was perfectly fine. Like tonight, actually. He was at his adoptive father’s house to have dinner the way they had every week since he had moved out years ago.

“James, could you pass me the potatoes?” Donna’s mum asked. He saw Donna open her mouth to correct her mother, but the Doctor shook his head. He didn’t feel up to one of their fights tonight.

“So,” Wilf said after a bit of an awkward silence, “Donna, how’s your friend from work? Rose? You haven’t said anything about her for a while now.”

The Doctor’s chest tightened at the mention of her name. 

“Oh, yeah. She’s good. Not much going on lately, that’s all,” Donna said. The Doctor breathed out a sigh of relief. He didn’t think he’d be able to handle one of Donna’s rambling stories about how amazing and brilliant Rose had been at work today.

“Alright… Doctor, how’s work been?” Wilf asked in another attempt to break the silence (which was now terribly awkward).

“Good, yeah… Stars all where they should be,” he muttered, not meeting anyone’s eyes.

“Lovely,” Wilf said. He didn’t know what was going on with his son lately, but he really hoped that it got resolved soon. He couldn’t take much more of this moping. Even his hair seemed to droop these days.

“I’ve got some stuff to go take care of with work actually,” the Doctor said. He stood up, chair scraping back loudly.

“Don’t worry about your dishes, it’s Donna’s turn anyway,” Wilf said. Donna didn’t even open her mouth to complain, she simply nodded at her brother.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

After dinner was over and the dishes were clean, Wilf cornered his granddaughter. 

“What is wrong with your brother?” he demanded. While Wilf’s demands weren’t very intimidating, Donna couldn’t help but want to tell him the truth.

“It’s Rose,” she sighed, sitting down on the couch. Wilf sat next to her, confusion on his face.

“From your job?” he asked. Donna nodded.

“They met just before he went on that vacation. Turns out she was going on vacation to the same place as him and they decided to stick together for a laugh. Only it turned out to be way more than that. He fell for her hard, Gramps. They spent the whole vacation together, like a couple. For some reason that I’ll never understand, the two dumbos decided to part ways when they got back to London. They’ve both been miserable since they got home. It’s driving me nutters.”

“Our Doctor fell in love, eh? And decided to give it up? What’s going on in that head of his, Donna?”

“I dunno, I wish he’d get it all straightened out,” Donna sighed. 

“I’m sure he will… In his own time,” Wilf said, patting his granddaughter’s hand, “and maybe with a bit of nudging from the people who love him.”

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“So, how are you getting’ on then?” Donna asked over the whir of the machines in Vortex.

“What are you talking about?” Rose asked with a furrowed brow. All morning Donna had been ignoring Rose, though Rose didn’t have a clue why.

“You know, without my brother. You moving on happily?” she asked. Donna bit her tongue. This wasn’t exactly how she had planned for this conversation to go. She was being a lot harsher than she intended. These idiots were driving her batty. 

“I guess I’m alright, yeah,” Rose muttered, turning away from her friend.

“Not missing him anymore then?” she pushed.

“Nope,” Rose said stubbornly. She placed the coffee on the counter and called out the name on the order.

“Not even a little, tiny bit?” Donna asked. Rose slammed her hands down on the counter.

“Of course I miss ‘im,” she said lowly, “I miss ‘im every damn day, Donna. But I can’t do anything about it. He wanted to call it off when we got back here. He was right to… Something like what we had… It could never last. It’s too deep and too real and too much for us to ever be allowed to keep it. The world doesn’t work that way. Please drop it. Every time I hear his stupid name it feels like all the air gets sucked out of my lungs. People say ‘Doctor’ a whole hell of a lot. More than you’d think, I promise.”

“Rose, I’m sorry,” Donna said softly, “I’m just frustrated with you two. You’re both miserable! Don’t you think you could at least try…?”

“Donna, please,” Rose breathed.

Donna sighed and nodded, getting back to work.

“I stole this shirt from him when we were packing,” Rose said. Donna’s face furrowed in confusion.

“And?”

“It doesn’t smell like him anymore.”

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“How are you doing, pretty boy?” 

The Doctor did a double take. He didn’t think he’d ever heard Donna speak to him that gently before. He put down the dish that he was washing.

“I’m fine, yeah,” he said quickly, giving her a grin. He’d been working at it a lot lately and he thought it was pretty convincing by now. Donna rolled her eyes and scoffed at him, leaning on her hip against the counter next to him and crossing her arms. Alright, maybe not as convincing as he’d hoped. 

“How’s… How’s Rose, then?” he asked in the most casual tone he could manage. This was the first time he’d managed to ask Donna about her. He’d been dying to since they parted, but he was afraid. Afraid that she was miserable. Afraid that she was getting on swimmingly. Afraid that she had–

“Oh, she’s great! Got a new bloke. I think it’s getting pretty serious,” Donna said, matching his tone. 

The Doctor’s world stopped. 

“Is that so?” he wheezed. He swallowed hard and tried to sort out his voice.

“That’s… great! Brilliant. Molto bene. I have to go–”

“Oh, you idiot. She’s miserable. She’s moping around just like you are. Why you two don’t just get your heads out of your arses, I’ll never know,” Donna grumbled. 

“It isn’t that simple, Donna. I’ll hurt her, I know I will. Or something will happen to one of us. Or she’ll realize that she deserves so much better than me and leave me. I can’t handle that. Not with Rose. The longer we’re together, the more it’ll hurt when it eventually ends.”

“So this is better? You two miserable all the time? Going around not even really living your lives?”

“Eventually, we’ll move on. It’s just… taking longer than we expected it to, that’s all,” the Doctor said. He was looking at the wall just passed Donna’s head, unable to meet her eyes.

“You know what, Doctor? You’re right. It’ll take a while, but you two are both pretty young. You’ll move on. Only think of each other every now and then. You’ll start losing her, Doctor. You’ll forget the way her mouth quirked when she smiled at you or the way her hair smelled when you held her as you were falling asleep. The shirt that she stole from you loses your scent and suddenly she can’t remember what you smell like at all. If that’s what you want, if you want Rose Tyler to fade away from you that way, then fine. I won’t push you two anymore.”

With that, Donna turned and walked out of the kitchen. She could only hope she’d finally gotten through to him.

The Doctor went back to the dishes, her words swimming in his head.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

The Doctor sat in his flat that night, thinking. He couldn’t get Donna’s words out of his mind. Was this really better? Rose was miserable. He was miserable. And Donna was right; all those little details would start to slip from their minds. The little things were the ones that mattered the most, in the end. The thought of losing all the little pieces of her that way was eating him up inside.

Before he knew it, his trainers were laced up and he was out his door.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

Rose jumped when she heard a loud knock at her front door. She glanced over at the clock. Who on earth was at her flat at half eleven? She got up from the couch and padded cautiously over to the door. She gasped when she peeked through the peep hole and saw who was on the other side. The door was unlocked and thrown open as quickly as she could possible manage.

“Doctor?” she breathed.

“Um, yes… Hello,” he said, blushing brightly.

“How do you even know where I live?” Rose asked, brow furrowed.

“Donna,” he said simply. He swallowed hard, his eyes never once straying from her beautiful face. Rose’s eyes roamed over his whole body, taking him all in.

“What are you doing here?” she asked when her eyes finally landed back on his face.

“Donna… Talked some sense into me today, I think,” he replied, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

“Oh! Come in, sorry! Wasn’t even thinkin’,” Rose said with a blush, stepping back from the doorway to let him in. He rushed in before she had time to change her mind.

“D’you want a cuppa?” she offered, pointing him to the couch for him to have a seat.

“Uh, no, ta,” he said.

“How about a–”

“Rose, please sit down with me,” he said softly. Rose swallowed and sat next to him, taking a deep breath.

“Rose… Rose Tyler… I know I said that it was best for us to part ways before we got too deep into this–”

“And I agreed,” Rose interrupted.

“Yes. It only seemed logical. What we have… It’s too precious. Things like this- they never last. They can’t.”

“Doctor, if you came here to tell me that we’re better off this way–”

“That’s the thing! I’ve been trying and trying to convince myself that it’s better this way. That the pain we feel now is just a fraction of what we’d feel later. But I didn’t… I didn’t think… I haven’t slept for a month, Rose. I can’t sleep without you there. I’m in this too deep. I can’t– I don’t want– Rose, please–”

“Doctor, what are you trying to say?” Rose asked, just managing to keep her voice even.

“I love you, Rose Tyler,” he blurted. His eyes went wide. Rose gasped.

“I– sorry. I didn’t mean to do it that way… I swear I had a big, elegant speech. But when I look at you, Rose, all that goes away. I know what I said before, but is this really better? We’re miserable. I can’t imagine a pain deeper than this. Nothing could be worse than this. I can’t think about anything but holding you in my arms again. If you want me to leave, then I will. Just… Just tell me, please. Say something,” he begged. If Rose turned him away, if she really thought they were better off without each other, he would leave right now. He’d never bother her again. He didn’t know how he’d move on, but somehow he would.

“You idiot,” Rose whispered.

“I don’t–”

“I love you, you daft man,” she said.

“Oh! Well… yes that’s what I was hoping, obviously.” He was gearing up for a ling ramble if Rose didn’t stop him soon, he could feel it. 

Rose laughed, grabbing the front of his hoodie and pulling him close to her. He brushed her nose with his.

“I love you.”

Neither of them were quite sure who had said it. It didn’t matter much, really. Rose tilted her head up and pressed her lips to his softly. He moaned in the back of his throat. How had he ever thought he’d be able to live without this?

“C’mon,” Rose said after pulling back a few centimeters.

“Hmm? Where are we going?” he asked, trying to catch her lips again.

“We’re going to the bedroom, you idiot,” Rose laughed.

She laced their fingers together and ran to the back of her flat, toward her bedroom. When they got there the Doctor slammed the door and turned Rose around, and pressed her against it.

“I’ve missed you so much,” he whispered hotly against her throat. He felt her hum against his lips. He trailed wet kisses down her throat, stopping when he got to the collar of her t-shirt.

“Oi, this is my shirt,” he said, surprised.

“What?” Rose asked, in a daze. She threaded her fingers in his hair and tried to get his lips back against her skin.

“You’re wearing the blue shirt that I lost when we were packing in St. Ives,” he said. When his words registered, Rose gasped, looking down. He looked up to see a faint blush staining her cheeks.

“So it is,” she said, biting her bottom lip.

“Wonder how that happened,” she muttered. The Doctor laughed, capturing her lips with his again.

“I knew you took it,” he said.

“Did you really?” Rose asked, surprised.

“’Course I did,” he said with a laugh. He slid his hands underneath it, his palms itching for her warm, soft skin to be against them.

“And as beautiful as you look in it, I think I need to get you out of it,” he growled. Rose’s stomach dropped. God, she’d missed that sound. He tugged the shirt up, murmuring for her to lift her arms and help him. 

“You can borrow this one once we’re done, yeah?” he said teasingly. He jerked his hoodie up over his head, pulling his shirt along with it.

“Come winter, I’ll have all of your hoodies if you don’t watch out,” Rose warned. She reached out with trembling hands and placed them on his chest. She felt his muscles twitch beneath her fingers when she trailed her nails lightly down his chest, ending up at the waistband of his trousers. She popped the button and had his zip and trousers down in record time.

“Let’s move this to the bed before I take you right here against this door,” he groaned, kicking their discarded clothes away.   
Rose hadn’t been wearing trousers to begin with, so the two of them were both down to just their pants when they reached the bed.

“Rose, as much as I’d love for this to be slow and last all night,” the Doctor began with a blush.

“Don’t worry about it,” she whispered, pulling him down on top of her. 

“I’ve been ready for you for ages now,” she whispered against his lips. She took his full bottom lip between her teeth and nibbled on it. She’d never met a man (or anyone else, really) with a bottom lip like his. It was ridiculous. And distracting. And brilliant. 

She sucked it into her mouth and ran her tongue along it. She had missed every inch of this man. The Doctor pulled back with a gasp, pulling his lip from hers with a wet noise that made his hips buck against hers.

“Rose, please,” he said, swallowing, “I need you now.”

Rose responded by slipping her fingers under his boxers and pushing them down his hips.

“Get rid of those, then,” she said. In a flash, he had somehow ridded them both of their remaining clothes and was settling atop her. He grabbed his hard length and stroked it slowly with a loud moan.

“Are you ready?” he whispered, teasing the head between her lips. His head brushed her clit, pulling a strangled moan from the depths of her throat.

“God, please, Doctor,” she begged, spreading her thighs for him even further.

“You’re soaking, love,” he breathed, placing his tip at her entrance. Rose couldn’t force her vocal cords to work. He pushed his hips forward, slowly filling her. 

“Fuck,” Rose whimpered. Her nails dug into the back of his neck, surely leaving little crescent moons in their wake. 

When he was finally sheathed completely inside of her, he stopped moving altogether. They breathed each other in, exchanging soft kisses.

“Okay,” Rose said.

“You ready?” he asked, pressing another kiss against her lips. Rose nodded. He took a deep, shaking breath. 

Slowly, achingly slowly, he pulled back, sliding out of her about half way before pushing forward again.

“Doctor, I’m gonna go mad soon,” Rose said. 

“If I speed up, I won’t be able to la–” 

“Shut up, and move,” Rose growled. The Doctor laughed quietly, speeding up his hips. He pressed his forehead against hers.

“I missed you,” he said quietly. She almost missed it.

“Rose, I’m gonna–”

“Touch me,” she begged. She was so close, if he would just–

“Yes, fuck, Doctor, yes!”

He was rubbing her clit between his ring and middle fingers in time with the thrusting of his hips. Stars burst behind her eyes and her walls clenched around him. She cried out his name, voice breaking in the middle. It was that sound, that beautiful, desperate sound that broke him. His hips stuttered as he came inside of her.

“Rose,” he cried out hoarsely. He kept up his thrusting and rubbing for as long as he could, prolonging their climaxes. 

The Doctor collapsed on top of her with a soft ‘oof’. She didn’t try to get him to roll over. Instead, she pulled him closer, threading her fingers through the sweaty hair at the nape of his neck. They both panted for breath, completely sated. 

After a while, he did roll off of her. When he did, he gathered her against his chest, snuggling her close to him. They reached down to pull the comforter over them. He ran his fingers soothingly through her hair, lulling her to sleep even faster.

“Rose?” the Doctor said sleepily.

“Yeah?” she replied, eyes already closed.

“You remember how we talked about parallel universes?”

“At the planetarium,” Rose said as she nodded against his chest.

“I don’t think there’s a single universe out there where we don’t end up right   
here.”

Rose kissed his chest softly and nodded again. She was absolutely sure that he was right.


	12. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god I don't even know where to begin. First of all, thank you so much for taking this journey with me. I know it's been a long ride. I know at some points you may have wanted to hurt me for taking so long to update (thank you for not hurting me). We made it, though. I've had an amazing time with this. Whether you've been here from the time I posted the first chapter, or you're reading this some time in the future, I just want to say thank you. Thank you a million times. I hope you've enjoyed this at least half as much as I have.

The Doctor took a deep breath, wiping his damp palms on his trousers once again. 

He looked directly into the reflection of his eyes, steeling himself for what was to come. 

Rose should be out any minute now. He needed to get himself under control before she came out and noticed something was off about him. He’d been hiding this for a long while now, it wouldn’t do to go and cock it up now. 

“Doctor?” 

He jumped away from the mirror hanging on the wall in their room. 

“Hmm?” he asked as smoothly as he could. Rose laughed a little.

“You ready to go, love?”

“Think so, yeah,” the Doctor said. He straightened his tie and looked Rose up and down. She looked beautiful (no surprise there) in the bright blue dress that he’d picked out (in a roundabout sort of way). He’d seen the dress one day while they were out shopping and his heart stopped. All he could think about when he looked at it was her wearing it on this day. He’d mentioned casually that he thought it would look beautiful on her and when she turned to look at it he watched her fall in love. Then, when they were packing, he told her it might do to have a nice dress, should they want to go have a fancy night out for a laugh. She chose the blue dress, just as he suspected she would.

He extended his elbow for her to loop her arm through.

“We’re going to the same planetarium that we went to the first time we were here, right?” Rose asked, leaning her head on his shoulder as the slowly walked to the front of the Salt House.

“Yep! A little birdy told me that they got a few exciting new things to check out there, actually,” the Doctor responded. Rose hummed, standing up straight to walk a bit faster.

“If we don’t hurry, the cab’ll leave us,” she said. The taxi had been there for a couple of minutes now, waiting on Rose to finish getting dressed. To be fair, she would have been done much sooner if the Doctor hadn’t taken a year to do his hair. 

“It’s always so nice to be back here,” Rose said. She unlooped their arms to reach down and lace their fingers together, making the Doctor sigh contentedly.

“Yeah, it is,” he said quietly. The made it to the cab and got in, buckling up and quickly grabbing each other’s hands once again. 

The drive to the planetarium went by quickly, in a comfortable silence. Before they knew it, they were there. 

“We’re a little dressed up for a night out at the planetarium, don’t you think?” Rose said, glancing down at their clothes. The Doctor was in a brown suit with blue pinstripes. If Rose was honest, his arse looked fantastic in those tight trousers. (Then again, she thought, his arse usually looks fantastic.) 

“Well,” he drawled, “like I said when we were packing. A night dressed up on the town out for a laugh.” 

“Right,” Rose said, suppressing a smirk. He thought he was smooth, but she knew he was up to something. She’d play his game though. She knew how happy they made him, after all. 

“By the way, I like this suit,” she said as they walked in the doors of the building. Her eyebrows furrowed when she looked around, finding it almost empty. 

“Where’s everyone at?” she asked, his suit pushed to the back of her mind.

“Oh… around,” he evaded, pulling her toward the entrance to the observatory. 

“We didn’t even get a ticket,” she said, twisting around to look back where the queue should be.

“Taken care of,” he said. 

“Doctor… There’s literally no one here but us and that guy up there controlling the lights. What’s going on?” 

“I may have arranged a more… private show for us,” he said, not meeting her eyes. She thought she could see a light blush in his cheeks, but the lights were already down for the show, so she couldn’t be sure. 

“Alright then,” Rose said, shrugging. She’d known he was up to something, but she didn’t know it was this big of a deal. She should probably be nervous, now that she thought about it. She wasn’t. She was curious and excited, but not nervous. She hadn’t been nervous around the Doctor for a very long time now. 

“Elton, could you start us up, please?” the Doctor called once they were comfortable.

“Elton?” Rose whispered, lifting an eyebrow. The Doctor shrugged with a laugh, grabbing her hand. He uncured her fingers and brought her palm up to his lips, brushing soft kisses over it. She felt his breath tickle her skin as he whispered something against it. 

Rose looked over at him to find his eyes closed. He was measuring his breathing. She thought he might even be shaking a bit. She lifted her hand from his lips to run it soothingly through his hair.

“What’s wrong, love?” she whispered, biting her bottom lip. His eyes fluttered open.

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing is wrong,” he assured her. Despite his obvious nerves, she believed him. 

Elton took them on a tour of the stars, narrating the show for them. This time when the Doctor interjected to expand on something, they didn’t get kicked out. When the show was nearing its end, Rose could feel the Doctor getting jumpy and nervous again. She turned to make a comment to him just as he was kneeling down. Her face furrowed in confusion.

“Your shoe untied?” she asked, unable to resist reaching out to run her fingers through his hair while he was down there. 

“Rose Tyler,” the Doctor began softly. He stopped, face scrunching up. 

“What did you just…? No, my shoe is not untied! Please, give me a moment down here,” he said. Leave it to Rose to ruin this wonderful moment that he’d been planning for months now. 

“Right, sorry,” Rose said with a laugh. Her breath caught in her throat when she realized why, exactly, he was down on his knee.

“Oh my god,” she breathed. His eyes pleaded with her to be quiet for just one moment. She bit her lip, nodding for him to continue. 

“Rose Tyler,” he began again, “three years ago I took you to this planetarium for the first time. I’m sure you remember.”

He paused, taking a deep breath and swallowing hard. 

“You got us kicked out that time,” Rose reminded him, voice shaking. 

“Yes, well… I’m very glad that we got to see the show through this time. I’ve been thinking for months on this, Rose. On what to say to say to you at this very moment. Truth is, I haven’t got a clue. I’m hoping that our relationship is strong enough that your answer to my question doesn’t hinge on how eloquent my speech before is. I’ve never loved anyone like I love you. I will never love anyone like I love you. Three years and not an ounce of what I felt for you has waned. Not one bit. In fact, I’d wager that it gets stronger every day. Every minute, even. 

I was wondering, Rose Tyler… if maybe… you’d like to marry me?” 

There in the planetarium, with the stars swirling around them, Rose was speechless. Both of their eyes were shining with tears. She swallowed hard around the giant lump in her throat, trying desperately to answer him. 

“Of course… I’m already planning on staying with you for the rest of my life. Marriage does have certain benefits, though. If something happens to one of us, the other will be protected. Regardless of your answer though, I’ll be here for as long as you’ll have me.”

“Forever,” Rose said, a tear slipping down her cheek without her permission.

“What?” he asked, dumbfounded. 

“Forever, you idiot. I want to stay with you forever. Of course I’ll marry you,” she said.

“Oh! Thank goodness,” he breathed, sliding the ring on her finger and standing to wrap his arms around her. He buried his face in her neck and breathed her in. She weaved her fingers in his hair and held him close to her. She felt hot tears fall on her neck and she bit her lip, trying to keep her own tears at bay. She tugged on his hair lightly, pulling his face away from her. 

“I love you,” she said. She pulled him down to press their lips together. The Doctor’s lips immediately parted, his tongue coming out to run along her bottom lip. Her lips opened under his, tongue coming out to playfully stroke his. 

He slowly ended their kiss, breathing heavy as he looked in her eyes. Elton had brought the lights up so that they could clearly see each other. 

Suddenly, the Doctor barked out a laugh. Rose looked at him in shocked silence for a moment before joining him. They laughed breathlessly. Their eyes still shone with unshed tears. 

“We made it,” he whispered through a laugh. All the worry about being torn apart by one force or another had gradually eased as they made it through the years. They didn’t cling to each other like they’d be stolen away in the middle of the night anymore. They rested easy, knowing that the love of their life would be there in the morning. 

“Yeah,” Rose said, nodding along with him, “we did.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have never been to or near St Ives, all my knowledge comes from the internet. I've also taken some liberties with the Salt House and St Ives, since I have absolutely nothing but google to go off of.


End file.
